Engineering 
Library 


Burning  Liquid  Fuel 


A  Practical  Treatise  on  the  Perfect  Combustion 
of  Oils  and  Tars,  giving  Analyses,  Calorific  Values 
and  Heating  Temperatures  of  Various  Gravities 
with  Information  on  the  Design  and  Proper  Instal- 
lation of  Equipment  for  All  Classes  of  Service 


BY 

William  Newton  Best 

Fellow   of   the   Royal   Society   of   Arts.,   Engineer   in    Caloric,   Member 

Am.  Ry.  Master  Mechanics  Asso.;  Am.  Soc.  M.  E.;   Am.  Inst.  Min. 

and  Met.  Eng.;    Inter.   Ry.   Fuel   Asso.;    Am.   Inst.    of   Metals; 

Am.  Drop  Forge  Asso.;  Areo  Soc.  of  Am.;  Franklin  Inst.; 

N.   Y.  Academy  of  Sciences;   and  Petroleum  Inst. 


The  Burners,  Furnaces  and  Various  Installations  Described  in  this  Book 
are  Fully  Protected  by  Letters  Patents. 


New  York 
U.  P.  C.  BOOK  COMPANY,  Inc. 

243-249  West  39th  Street 
Nineteen  Twenty-Two 


;  ••  :  ^ 
. 

•;?  ^-  •  •    •   •   '  ' 


FIRST  EDITION 
COPYRIGHT,  1913, 

BY 
WILLIAM   NEWTON    BEST 

REVISED  AND  ENLARGED  EDITION 
COPYRIGHT,  1922, 

BY 
U.    P.    C.    BOOK    COMPANY,    INC. 


Engineering 
Library 


Bcbtcation 

AS  THE  YOUNGEST  OF  A  LARGE 
FAMILY  IT  WAS  MY  CUSTOM  IN 
CHILDHOOD  TO  BRING  MY  EXAM- 
PLES AND  COMPOSITIONS  TO  MY 
BROTHERS  AND  SISTERS  FOR  THEIR 
CORRECTION  AND  APPROVAL  SO  NOW 
I  BRING  TO  THEM  THESE  PAGES, 
WHICH  REPRESENT  THE  LABOR  OF 
MANY  YEARS  SPENT  IN  MAKING  EX- 
HAUSTIVE TESTS,  LESS  CONFIDENT 
OF  THEIR  APPROVAL,  BUT  MORE  FUL- 
LY APPRECIATING  THEIR  LOVE.  TO 
THESE  DEAR  ONES  WHO,  EACH 
IN  THEIR  OWN  WAY,  AIDED  AND 
ENCOURAGED  ME  IN  MY  CHOSEN 
CALLING,  I  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDI- 
CATE THIS  BOOK. 


FOREWORD 

Dear  Friend  Best: 

As  the  general  subject  of  Petroleum,  and  particularly  the 
fuel  feature  of  the  problem,  has  strongly  appealed  to  me  for  the 
past  thirty  years,  it  was  with  exceeding  interest  and  professional 
profit  I  read  the  advance  proof  sheets  of  your  valuable  and  prac- 
tical treatise  on  the  efficient  combustion  of  oils  and  tars. 

Your  distinct  fitness  to  write  upon  this  important  subject  will 
be  recognized  by  our  leading  engineering  experts,  not  only  by 
reason  of  your  broad  experience  as  regards  oil  fuel  matters  but 
likewise  due  to  the  varied,  progressive  and  successful  results  ac- 
complished by  you  along  that  line. 

During  the  extended  series  of  boiler  tests  conducted  by  the 
Navy  (1901-1904)  with  both  coal  and  oil  as  a  combustible,  it  was 
you  who  first  distinctly  and  strikingly  called  attention  to  the  im- 
portance and  necessity  of  providing  a  very  marked  increase  in  the 
volume  of  combustion  chamber  with  the  use  of  oil  as  a  fuel.  It 
has  been  development  in  this  direction  which  constitutes  one  of 
the  distinct  advances  obtained  in  burning  oil  more  efficiently  and 
safely  as  well  as  in  very  materially  increasing  the  output  of  boiler 
capacity. 

There  were  other  important  features  of  the  problems  of 
safely,  uniformily,  efficiently  and  rapidly  burning  oil  which  were 
suggested  and  emphasized  by  you,  and  which  have  since  been  uni- 
versally adopted. 

The  Navy  as  well  as  the  Nation  is  therefore  indebted  "to  you 
for  the  far-reaching  military  and  engineering  counsel  you  render- 
ed your  country  in  promoting  the  successful  development  of  the 
oil  burning  furnace — an  achievement  of  importance  whether 
viewed  from  an  industrial,  maritime  or  strategic  standpoint. 

As  our  economic  advance  may  very  materially  influence  our 
future  welfare,  it  is  fittingly  supplementary  to  your  other  impor- 
tant accomplishments,  that  you  should  now  give  to  the  engin- 
eering world  of  this  nation  a  Treatise  that  tells  of  the  most  pro- 
gressive manner  in  which  fuel  oil,  one  of  the  important  products 
of  our  most  distinct  national  asset,  should  be  handled  and  con- 
served. 

With  affection  and  esteem,    I  am  sincerely, 

(Signed)  JOHN  R.  EDWARDS, 

>  Rear  Admiral  U.  S.  N.  Ret. 

Dr.  W.  N.  BEST,  F.R.S.A.,  donating  Engineer, 
11  Broadway,  New  York. 

482151 


PREFACE 

THE  wisest  man  who  ever  lived  upon  this  earth  stated  that  right- 
eousness exalteth  a  nation.  Both  history  and  ruins  prove  the 
truth  of  this  statement.  The  greatest  asset  of  any  corporation  is 
its  reputation,  for  this  reveals  the  character  of  its  officials ;  hence, 
the  necessity  for  producing  goods  of  100%  quality.  Scientific  books 
benefit  their  readers  only  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  truth 
which  they  contain,  for  science  is  truth.  Often  theory  is  termed 
science,  but  eventually  it  must  give  way  to  truth.  The  author  has 
read  hundreds  of  works  only  to  find  them  disappointing  both  as  to 
their  statements  and  applications.  The  illustrations  and  data  con- 
tained in  this  book  are,  however,  based  only  on  facts. 

In  the  compilation  of  this  edition  of  the  Science  of  Burning 
Liquid  Fuel  the  author  has  given  data  which  cover  all  the  various 
forms  of  equipment.  This  has  been  obtained  from  thousands  of 
actual  tests,  and  is  the  result  of  knowledge  gleaned  from  more  than 
thirty-three  years'  experience  in  the  burning  of  oil  and  tar. 

The  language  used  is  plain.  It  will  be  readily  understood  by 
professors  and  students  of  public  schools,  technical  schools  or  uni- 
versities; the  mechanic  or  consulting  engineer;  the  heater  or 
forger  of  metals ;  the  melter  or  superintendent  of  a  foundry ;  the 
draftsman  or  a  works  manager;  the  superintendent  or  president 
of  a  manufacturing  concern;  and  the  metallurgist  or  the  chemist. 

The  equipment  shown  are  not  mere  photographs  of  the  outside 
but  give  interior  construction.  They  have  been  selected  from  the 
42,000  installations  in  successful  operation  and  reveal  the  most 
modern  application  of  liquid  fuel  so  as  to  obtain  CO2  therefrom 
(perfect  combustion  of  fuel).  The  general  construction  and  the 
principles  on  which  the  installations  were  based  are  different  from 
all  others.  This  edition  contains  data,  tables  and  illustrations  which 
are  invaluable  to  multifarious  branches  of  manufacture,  transpor- 
tation, etc. 

These  tabulated  results  of  tests  are  surprising  if  we  consider  only 
the  calorific  value  of  coal  and  oil,  but  due  allowance  must  be  made 
for  all  phases  and  varieties  of  service. 

We  hope  we  have  made  clear  the  absolute  necessity  of  thoroughly 
atomizing  the  oil,  as  well  as  the  use  of  a  burner  that  will  not  car- 
bonize. It  is  also  necessary  to  use  a  burner  that  will  make  a  flame 
that  will  fit  the  combustion  chamber  or  fire-box  to  which  it  is  ap- 


4  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

plied  as  perfectly  as  a  drawer  fits  an  opening  in  a  desk.  I  cannot 
conceive  how  anyone  could  expect  a  round  flame  to  fit  a  flat  surface 
any  more  than  one  could  expect  a  carpenter  to  fit  a  round  drawer 
to  an  oblong  opening  in  a  desk.  Such  a  thing  is  impossible.  The 
flame  must  be  made  to  fit  perfectly. 

As  a  lover  of  Youth  I  wish  to  make  the  statement  that  you  can 
never  succeed  in  this  world  unless  you  love  your  particular  calling. 
It  has  been  well  said  that  "He  who  aspires  must  perspire."  Genius 
is  90  per  cent,  work  and  10  per  cent,  concentration.  Knowledge  is 
Power.  You  will  find  work  to  be  your  best  friend,  and  in  your 
life's  calling  you  can  be  successful  only  in  proportion  to  the  amount 
of  intelligent  effort  that  you  put  forth  in  making  your  contribution 
to  the  world.  My  hope  is  that  you  will  let  the  world  know  that  it 
has  been  made  better  because  you,  the  reader  of  this  book,  have 
lived  in  it. 

In  my  life's  work  I  am  encouraged  very  much  by  the  following 
poem  by  Rudyard  Kipling: — 

L'ENVOI 

"When  Earth's  last  picture  is  painted,  and  the  tubes  are  twisted 

and  dried, 

When  the  oldest  colours  have  faded,  and  the  youngest  critic  has  died, 
We  shall  rest,  and  faith,  we  shall  need  it — lie  down  for  an  aeon 

or  two, 
Till  the  Master  of  All  Good  Workmen  shall  set  us  to  work  anew ! 

"And  those  that  were  good  shall  be  happy;  they  shall  sit  in  a 

golden  chair; 
They  shall  splash  at  a  ten-league  canvas  with  brushes  of  comets' 

hair; 
They  shall  find  real  saints  to  draw  from — Magdalene,  Peter  and 

Paul; 
They  shall  work  for  an  age  at  a  sitting  and  never  be  tired  at  all! 

"And  only  the  Master  shall  praise  us,  and  only  the  Master  shall 

blame ; 

And  no  one  shall  work  for  money,  and  no  one  shall  work  for  fame ; 
But  each  for  the  joy  of  the  working,  and  each,  in  his  separate  star, 
Shall  draw  the  Thing  as  he  sees  It  for  the  God  of  Things  as  They 
are!" 

W.  N.  BEST. 
July,  1921. 


Table  of  Contents 

CHAPTER  I  PAGE 

EARLY  EXPERIENCES 7 

CHAPTER  II 
LIQUID  FUEL — ITS  ORIGIN,  PRODUCTION  AND  ANALYSIS 15 

CHAPTER  III 
ATOMIZATION  33 

CHAPTER  IV 
OIL  SYSTEMS 39 

CHAPTER  V 
REFRACTORY  MATERIAL 69 

CHAPTER  VI 
LOCOMOTIVE  EQUIPMENT  72 

CHAPTER  VII 
STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 84 

CHAPTER  VIII 
Low  PRESSURE  BOILERS  AND  HOT  AIR  FURNACES 129 

CHAPTER  IX 
COMMERCIAL  GAS  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 135 

CHAPTER  X 
SUGAR  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 142 

CHAPTER  XI 
STEEL  FOUNDRY  PRACTISE 152 

CHAPTER  XII 
HEAT-TREATING  FURNACE  PRACTISE 171 

CHAPTER  XIII 
MALLEABLE  IRON,  GREY  IRON  AND  BRASS  FOUNDRY  PRACTISE.  . .  194 

CHAPTER  XIV 
MODERN  FORGE  SHOP  PRACTISE 216 

5 


6  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

CHAPTER  XV  PAGE 

BOILER  MANUFACTURERS'  FURNACE  EQUIPMENT 243 

CHAPTER  XVI 
COPPER  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT  264 

CHAPTER  XVII 
ENAMELING  EQUIPMENT 269 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
CHEMICAL  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 272 

CHAPTER  XIX 
CERAMIC  EQUIPMENT  283 

CHAPTER  XX 
LIME  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 286 

CHAPTER  XXI 
CEMENT  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 291 

CHAPTER  XXII 
DRYERS  AND  ORE  ROASTERS 295 

CHAPTER  XXIII 
BREAD  AND  CRACKER  OVEN  EQUIPMENT 306 

CHAPTER  XXIV 
CHOCOLATE  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT   312 

CHAPTER  XXV 
OIL  AND  TAR  STILL  EQUIPMENT 314 

CHAPTER  XXVI 
INCINERATOR  EQUIPMENT   318 

CHAPTER  XXVII 
GLASS  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 320 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 
COMBUSTION  ENGINEERING  .  332 


Chapter  I 
EARLY  EXPERIENCE 

The  author  of  this  book  began  the  study  of  liquid  fuel  while 
Master  Mechanic  and  Superintendent  of  the  Los  Angeles  Electric 
Railway  in  the  year  1887.  We  used  the  Daft  system  of  electricity. 
This  system  had  previously  operated  an  electric  railway  in  Boston, 
Mass.  They,  however,  did  not  have  the  overhead  wire,  but  used  the 
third  rail  system.  Ours  was  the  first  overhead  system  of  electric 
railroad  in  the  United  States,  if  not  in  the  world.  A  view  of  the 
electric  motor  car  then  used  on  this  road  is  here  given.  You  can 
also  see  the  first  electric  locomotive  with  two  trailers  attached.  It 
may  be  of  interest  to  here  state  that  after  building  the  Myrtle 
Avenue  branch  of  this  road  (which  was  a  branch  of  the  main  line  to 
Pico  Heights),  I  reported  to  the  Board  of  Directors  that  we  should 
purchase  motor  cars  for  the  branch  line  and  not  use  the  electric 
locomotive  and  trailers,  because  the  latter  was  more  costly  to 
operate,  but  I  also  made  the  statement  that  in  a  few  years  electric 
locomotives  would  be  used  instead  of  steam  locomotives  in  certain 
branches  of  work  and  for  that  service  they  would  be  better  than 
electric  motor  cars.  This  portion  of  my  report  caused  considerable 
merriment  as  there  were  grave  doubts  in  the  minds  of  many  as  to 
the  fulfilment  of  this  prophecy. 

The  boilers  to  which  I  first  applied  oil  as  fuel  were  the  "Hazel- 
ton,"  and  manufactured  in  New  York  City.  The  burners,  if  such 
they  could  be  called,  were  made  of  gas  pipe,  and  produced  a  round 
flame.  These  were  soon  changed  to  the  flat  type  by  simply  flatten- 
ing the  pipe  in  a  blacksmith's  forge  so  that  the  nozzle  would,  in 
a  measure,  produce  a  flat  flame,  but  which  in  reality  produced  a 
very  uneven,  irregular  flame.  The  steam  and  the  oil  passed  out 
in  the  same  direction  through  the  one  orifice,  which  often  resulted 
in  much  carbon  forming  therein,  and  necessitated  the  apparatus 
being  removed  quite  frequently  in  order  to  remove  the  carbon 
which  collected  in  the  mouth  piece.  The  equipment  was  exceed- 


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BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


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EARLY  EXPERIENCE  9 

ingly  crude.  I  have  since  thought  it  was  even  more  crude  than 
the  oil  we  were  attempting*  to  burn.  We  were,  however  (after 
much  experimenting) ,  able  to  get  the  normal  rating  of  the  boiler, 
but  several  months  passed  before  this  was  accomplished.  The  oil 
was  very  heavy,  being  between  14  and  18  gravity  Baume  and  of 
asphaltum  base.  While  endeavoring  to  obtain  information  from 
those  in  the  Eastern  States  and  in  Russia  who  claimed  to  have 
burned  oil,  I  found  that  they  were  laymen  in  the  art  of  burning 
the  new  fuel,  and  that  I  would  have  to  put  out  to  sea  without  any 
compass  to  guide  me. 

We  obtained  our  supply  of  crude  oil  from  wells  in  the  Puente 
fields  about  30  miles  from  Los  Angeles.  Often  it  was  reported  that 
the  supply  was  about  exhausted  and  at  times  we  were  not  sure  of 
getting  enough  for  our  requirements.  Again,  too,  the  coal  interests 
were  endeavoring  to  protect  themselves  from  inroads  by  the  oil 
company,  which  made  the  consumer  doubly  careful.  A  number 
of  firms  installed  oil  fuel  upon  their  boilers  but  had  difficulty  with 
the  elements  of  the  boiler  being  injured  or  with  not  being  able  to 
maintain  the  required  steam  pressure.  Thus  becoming  disgusted 
with  the  new  fuel,  nearly  all  of  these  firms  returned  to  the  use  of 
coal,  believing  that  the  kind  of  crude  oil  which  we  had  in  southern 
California  was  not  commercially  a  success  as  a  fuel.  The  author, 
however,  was  never  discouraged,  but  was  alert  to  each  new  de- 
velopment in  the  changes  of  brick  work,  different  locations  of  the 
burner  and  the  air  openings  through  which  the  air  could  enter  to 
effect  combustion  until  he  became  convinced  that  it  was  the  fuel 
of  the  twentieth  century.  In  order  to  obtain  satisfactory  results 
I  realized  that  it  had  to  be  scientifically  burned  and  that  careful 
consideration  was  necessary  in  order  to  achieve  the  highest  effi- 
ciency and  the  strictest  economy.  After  thirty-three  years  of  study, 
I  take  pleasure  in  giving  to  the  world  some  of  the  results  achieved 
by  the  use  of  this  incomparable  fuel. 

After  we  had  had  the  new  fuel  in  service  for  several  years  other 
manufacturers  became  impressed  with  the  fact  that  the  California 
crude  oil  could  be  successfully  burned  and  began  to  adopt  it  as  a 
fuel. 

The  first  locomotive  I  endeavored  to  equip  was  while  I  was  Mas- 
ter Mechanic  of  the  Los  Angeles  and  Redondo  Railway.  Many, 
many  were  the  discouragements  encountered  before  success 
crowned  our  efforts  and  demonstrated  that  crude  oil  was  a  God- 


10 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


3 


EARLY  EXPERIENCE  11 

send  to  both  the  engineer  and  fireman  as  this  fuel  increased  the 
tonnage  of  the  locomotive  fully  15  per  cent,  over  coal,  and  they 
could  maintain  the  steam  pressure  at  just  below  the  limit  required 
to  prevent  steam  escaping  through  the  pop  valves.  So  success- 
ful was  it  on  this  road  that  I  received  a  call  to  another  road  which 
had  attempted  but  failed  to  burn  this  fuel.  It  was  while  Super- 
intendent of  Motive  Power  and  Machinery  of  this  road  (The  Los 
Angeles  Terminal  Railway,  which  afterwards  became  the  Los  An- 
geles &  Salt  Lake  Railroad)  that  I  invented  my  own  burner.  The 
locomotive  which  carried  my  first  locomotive  burner  is  shown 
in  Fig.  2.  I  had  tried  every  form  and  type  of  burner  up  to  that 
time  and  saw  imperfections  of  construction  and_  operation  which 
I  strove  to  obviate  by  making  a  burner  foreign  to  all  others. 

My  experience  in  burning  liquid  fuel  in  furnaces  began  while 
I  was  Superintendent  of  the  California  Industrial  Company's 
Rolling  Mill  in  Los  Angeles.  We  manufactured  commercial  iron 
(bar  iron  of  all  sizes  and  shapes)  from  scrap  iron  and  soft  steel. 
Many  people  have  stated  that  oil  cannot  successfully  weld  iron  and 
steel,  while  others,  who  have  successfully  used  oil  as  fuel,  state 
that  oil  is  the  only  fuel  for  this  class  of  work  as  it  does  not  change 
the  nature  of  the  metal.  As  we  had  only  scrap  iron  and  soft  steel 
to  make  the  bar  iron  from,  and  as  crude  oil  was  our  only  available 
fuel,  it  was  necessary  to  weld  it  perfectly;  and,  without  fear  of 
contradiction,  will  say  that  no  better  iron  can  be  made  than  that 
produced  with  oil  fuel,  as  oil,  when  properly  used,  is  a  purifier  of 
metals. 

Since  leaving  the  Rolling  Mill  I  have  installed  oil  burners  and 
supplied  designs  for  the  construction  of  nearly  every  form  of 
furnace  including  the  following:  Annealing,  asphaltum  mixers, 
babbitt  heating,  bolt  making,  brass  melting,  brazing,  bread  ovens, 
etc.,  brick  and  art  tile  kilns,  case  hardening,  cast  iron  melting, 
cement  kiln  rotary,  channel  iron  heating,  chocolate  bean  roasters, 
continuous  heating,  copper  plate,  core  drying,  crematories,  cru- 
cible brass  melting,  crucible  steel  melting,  drop  forge  work,  enamel- 
ing, flue  welding,  glass  lehrs,  glass  melting,  incinerators,  indirect- 
fired,  japanning  ovens,  ladle  heating,  locomotive  steam  raising, 
locomotive  tire  heating,  malleable  iron,  mould  drying,  ore  smelting, 
plate  heating,  pipe  bending,  pipe  flange  welding,  portable  torches, 
rivet  making,  rolling  mill  work,  rotary  kilns,  shaft  and  billet  heat- 
ing, sand  drying,  sheet  steel  heating,  steel  melting,  steel  mixers,  tar 


12  BURNING   LIQUID    FUEL 

stills,  tempering,  welding  scrap  iron,  wire  annealing,  wire  making. 
This  book  will  show  some  of  the  different  installations  and  the  re- 
sults obtained  therefrom. 

The  burning  of  liquid  fuel  is  a  science.  It  can  be  burned  either 
wastefully  or  economically.  In  order  to  obtain  the  highest  pos- 
sible efficiency  and  strictest  economy  from  any  installation  the  oil 
system  must  be  installed  and  operated  upon  scientific  principles.  I 
am  aware  that  many  articles  have  been  published  on  oil  burning. 
Some  have  contained  much  valuable  information,  while  others  it 
has  simply  been  a  waste  of  time  to  read,  because  of  the  fact  that 
the  writer  himself  was  not  familiar  with  the  subject.  Several 
years  ago  I  read  an  article  on  the  different  methods  of  burning 
oil  and  when  I  visited  the  city  in  which  the  author  resided  I  called 
upon  the  gentleman,  for  I  desired  to  ask  him  several  questions  on 
points  not  clear  to  me.  This  man  acknowledged  that  he  had  never 
burned  a  gallon  of  oil  in  his  life  and  that  his  article  was  simply  a 
compilation  of  reports  on  tests  made  by  others,  he  not  even  having 
been  present  at  any  of  the  tests.  The  burners  described  in  his 
treatise  all  seem  to  fit  perfectly  and  operate  without  the  slightest 
difficulty.  The  equipment  which  he  described  reminded  me  of  an 
artist's  girl  friend  who,  in  describing  the  ability  of  the  artist, 
stated  that  one  of  the  portraits  which  she  painted  of  a  gentleman 
was  so  perfect  that  it  had  to  be  shaved  twice  a  week.  My  point  is 
that  if  a  man  wishes  to  write  a  treatise  on  welding  iron  he  should 
first  learn  how  to  make  a  weld  himself,  for  some  time  he  is  liable 
to  meet  a  man  from  Missouri  "who  will  want  to  be  shown,"  and 
Mr.  Author  might  then  be  humiliated  because  of  his  imaginary 
ability.  Theory  is  needed,  but  without  practical  knowledge  it  is  like 
faith  without  works — it  is  dead.  To  say  the  least,  it  is  disappoint- 
ing, especially -in  regard  to  the  subject  of  heat,  which  we  have  been 
studying  for  centuries  and  by  the  knowledge  of  which  we  have 
raised  ourselves  above  the  brute  creation  and  the  Stone  Age.  A 
short  time  ago  while  addressing  some  students  I  asked,  "What  is 
the  propelling  power  of  a  steam  locomotive?"  They  thought  long 
and  hard,  and  at  last  after  mentioning  almost  every  part  of  the 
locomotive  one  student  in  desperation  said  "Heat,"  which  of  course 
is  the  propelling  power  of  a  steam  locomotive. 

While  it  is  not  possible  for  an  engineer  in  calorics  to  tell  you 
how  many  gallons  of  oil  are  required  to  run  a  locomotive  over  a 
division  of  a  railroad  without  knowing  her  tonnage  and  the  average 


EARLY  EXPERIENCE  13 

grades,  or  to  tell  you  how  much  oil  a  burner  will  burn  without 
having  full  particulars  in  regard  to  installation,  or  to  even  guess 
how  much  oil  will  be  used  in  a  furnace  without  knowing  its  exact 
form  and  proportions,  temperature  required,  the  size  and  quantity 
of  metal  to  be  heated  in  the  furnace  per  hour  or  per  day,  yet  he 
should  have  such  a  knowledge  of  his  business  and  the  capacity  of 
the  oil  burner  that  he  can  recommend  an  installation  which  will  not 
prove  a  farce.  If  it  is  a  copper  refining  furnace  (such  as  is  de- 
scribed in  this  book)  he  should  know  the  size  of  burner  required, 
the  amount  of  air  needed  to  reduce  and  refine  a  given  charge  of 
such  metal,  or  if  an  annealing  furnace  he  should  be  capable  of 
figuring  out  the  graduated  size  and  location  of  heat  ports  neces- 
sary to  give  an  even  distribution  of  heat  throughout  the  entire 
length,  width  and  height  of  the  furnace.  I  consider  that  a  man  is 
simply  playing  or  guessing  who  first  installs  three  or  four  oil 
burners  in  a  furnace  and  then  if  they  do  not  give  the  required 
heat,  installs  three  or  four  more.  This  is  not  the  intelligent  way 
of  solving  an  engineering  problem.  It  is  simply  the  old  "rule  of 
thumb." 

I  have  been  asked  if  every  man  or  firm  makes  a  success  of  burn- 
ing liquid  fuel.  To  this  I  always  answer  "No.  Many  cannot  burn 
oil  successfully."  The  next  inquiry  is  "Why  not?"  My  answer  is 
"Some  men  cannot  learn  to  play  the  piano,  others  the  harp.  Some 
women  are  good  cooks  but  cannot  sew,  and  vice  versa.  Many 
men  cannot  burn  coal  or  wood  advantageously,  and  therefore  I 
can  frankly  make  the  statement  that  many  cannot  learn  how  to 
btTrn  liquid  fuel."  I  have  been  often  amused  at  men  wanting  to 
run  tests  on  boilers  and  furnaces,  using  all  the  different  types  of 
burners  which  they  can  borrow  for  the  occasion.  The  men  con- 
ducting the  tests  never  having  had  any  theoretical  or  practical 
experience  in  the  burning  of  oil  or  tar,  their  efforts  are  not  a  com- 
pliment to  any  of  the  burners.  The  result  is  as  absurd  as  though 
two  men,  neither  of  whom  had  ever  previously  shot  off  a  gun, 
were  to  institute  a  shooting  contest,  borrowing  as  many  weapons 
as  they  could  from  the  various  gun  manufacturers,  assuring  them 
that  the  result  of  the  contest  would  be  of  great  advantage  to  the 
firm  that  was  fortunate  enough  to  win  in  the  contest.  Let  me 
assure  the  reader  that  the  man  who  has  never  shot  off  a  gun  (or 
the  man  who  has  never  operated  a  burner)  had  better  become 
familiar  with  their  construction  and  operation  before  exhibiting 


14  BURNING   LIQUID   FUEL 

the  results  of  the  contest,  otherwise  there  might  be  some  people 
who  would  not  consider  their  efforts  a  criterion,  and  if  their  state- 
ment is  incorrect  they  might  have  to  meet  the  result  of  said  de- 
cision in  after  years.  l4iave  known  officials  to  be  discharged  be- 
cause they  selected  an  inferior  article  and  after  years  had  elapsed, 
another  test  with  one  of  the  same  burners  revealed  the  fact  that 
the  superior  device  had  been  rejected  at  the  first  test,  resulting 
in  irreparable  loss  to  their  firm  of  hundreds  of  dollars  in  fuel  and 
thousands  of  dollars  in  output.  Under  such  circumstances  any 
man  should  be  dismissed  for  incompetency.  The  most  dangerous 
man  on  earth  is  an  egotistical  "Jack  of  all  trades."  Personally 
I  would  just  as  soon  give  my  watch  to  be  cleaned  or  repaired  to 
a  man  who  has  never  repaired  one  as  to  give  a  burner  to  an  in- 
experienced man  to  run  one  of  these  so-called  tests. 


Chapter  II 

LIQUID   FUEL— ITS    ORIGIN,   PRODUCTION 
AND   ANALYSIS 

"The  origin  of  petroleum  is  still  shrouded  in  mystery." 

Humboldt  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  is  derived  from  deep- 
seated  strata ;  Karl  Reihenbach  that  it  had  its  origin  through  heat 
action  on  turpentine,  etc.,  etc. 

The  various  theories  propounded  are  divided  by  the  scientific 
world  into  two  groups,  namely :  those  ascribing  to  petroleum  an 
inorganic  origin,  and  those  regarding  it  as  the  result  of  the  de- 
composition of  organic  matter. 

M.  P.  E.  Berth elot  in  1866,  after  many  experiments,  suggested 
that  mineral  oil  was  produced  by  purely  chemical  action;  while 
Mendeleheff  ascribed  its  formation  to  the  action  of  water  at  high 
temperature,  on  iron  carbide  in  the  interior  of  the  earth.  A  near 
analogous  theory  to  this  is  the  one  lately  advocated  by  Eugene 
Coste,  who  ascribed  its  origin  to  solfatara  volcanism. 

On  the  other  hand  overwhelming  opinions  are  adduced  favoring 
the  organic  origin.  Among  those  favoring  the  decomposition  of 
both  animal  and  vegetable  marine  organism  may  be  cited  J.  P. 
Lesley,  E.  Orton  and  S.  F.  Peckham,  while  others  have  held  that 
it  is  exclusively  of  animal  origin.  This  view  is  supported  by  such 
an  occurence  as  that  of  the  Trenton  limestone,  and  also  by  the 
experiments  of  C.  Engler,  who  obtained  a  liquid  crude  petroleum 
by  the  distillation  of  menhaden  (fish)  oil. 

Similarly  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  condition 
under  which  the  organisms  have  been  mineralized,  some  holding 
that  the  process  has  taken  place  at  a  high  temperature;  while 
others,  because  of  the  lack  of  practical  evidence,  have  concluded 
that  petroleum,  like  coal,  has  been  formed  at  moderate  temperature 
and  under  pressure  varying  with  the  depth  of  the  containing  rocks. 

Consideration  of  the  evidence  leads  us  to  the  conclusion  that  at 
least  in  commercially  valuable  deposits,  mineral  oil  has  generally 
been  formed  by  the  decomposition  of  marine  organism;  in  some 
cases  animal,  in  others  vegetable ;  in  others  both  under  practically 

15 


16 


BURNING   LIQUID   FUEL 


Fig.     3.     Two  logs  showing  geological  formations  or  sands  in  which 

oil  is  found. 


LIQUID  FUEL  PRODUCTION  AND  ANALYSIS          17 


Fig.  4. 

Pioneer 

Gusher 

in  the 

United 

States. 


18  BURNING   LIQUID    FUEL 

normal  conditions  of  temperature  and  pressure;  and  also  in  some 
to  solfatara  volcanism. 

We  are  indebted  to  Capt.  Anthony  F.  Lucas,  who  brought  in 
the  great  gusher  at  Spindletop,  Beaumont,  Texas,  in  January, 
1901,  for  the  cut  of  the  gusher,  and  also  for  the  above  article. 

Oil  was  first  discovered  in  the  United  States  in  1859  at  Titus- 


No.  5.    Col.  Drake's  Well  at  Titusville,  Pa. 


ville,  Pa.  During  the  first  year  only  2,000  barrels  (42  gallons 
each)  were  produced.  Since  then  each  succeeding  year  the  pro- 
duction and  demand  have  increased  until  the  world's  consumption 
now  aggregates  1,000,000  barrels  a  day.  In  the  year  1911  the 
United  States  alone  produced  220,440,391  barrels,  or  63.80%  of 
the  total  world  production. 


LIQUID  FUEL  PRODUCTION  AND  ANALYSIS 


19 


PETROLEUM  PRODUCED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  1859-1918, 
IN  BARRELS  OF  42  GALLONS 


Year 

Pennsylvania 
and  New  York 

Ohio 

West 
Virginia 

California 

Kentucky  and 
Tennessee 

Prior  to  1908. 
1908       

BBLS. 

687,425,409 
10,584,453 

BBLS. 

366,250,105 

10,858,797 

BBLS. 

185,039,718 
9,523,176 

BBLS. 

201,965,825 
44,854,737 

BBLS. 

5,276,578 

e727,767 

1909.  ........ 
1910  

10,434,300 

9,848,500 

10,632,793 
9,916,370 

10,745,092 
11,753,071 

55,471,601 
73,010,560 

e639,016 

e468,774 

1911      . 

9,200,673 

8,817,112 

9,795,464 

81,134,391 

e472,458 

1912  

8,712,076 

g8,969,007 

12,128,962 

h87,272,593 

e484,368 

1913  

8,865,493 

8,781,468 

11,567,299 

97,788,525 

e524,568 

1914  

9,109,309 

8,536,352 

9,680,033 

99,775,327 

e502,441 

1915  

8,726,483 

7,825,326 

9,264,798 

86,591,535 

e437,274 

1916.  . 

8,466,481 

7,744,511 

8,731,184 

90,951,936 

1,203,246 

1917  

8,612,885 

7,750,540 

8,379,285 

93,877,549 

3,100,356 

1918  

8,216,655 

7,285,005 

7,866,628 

97,531,997 

4,376,342 

788,202,717 

463,367,386 

294,474,710 

1,110,226,576 

18,213,188 

Year 

Colorado 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Kansas 

Texas 

Prior  to  1908.  . 
1908  

BBLS. 

8,874,285 
379,653 

BBLS. 

90,127,511 
3  283  629 

BBLS. 

28,866,683 
33  686  238 

BBLS. 

a42,357,150 
1  801  781 

BBLS. 

117,819,991 
11  206  464 

1909 

310,861 

2  296  086 

30  898  339 

1  263  764 

o  534  4fi7 

1910  
1911  

239,794 
226,926 

2,159,725 
1,695,289 

33,143,362 
31,317,038 

•  1,128,668 
1  278  819 

8,899,266 
9  526  474 

1912  
1913 

206,052 

188,799 

970,009  ' 
956,095 

28,601,308 
23  893  899 

1,592,796 
2  375  029 

11,735,057 
15  009  478 

1914  
1915  
1916  

222,773 
208,475 
197,235 

1,335,456 

875,758 
769,036 

21,919,749 
19,041,695 
17,714,235 

3,103,585 

2,823,487 
8,738,077 

20,068,184 
24,942,701 
27  644  605 

1917  

121,231 

759,432 

15,776,860 

36,536,125 

32  413  287 

1918 

143,286 

877,558 

13,365,974 

45,451  017 

38  750  031 

11,319,370 

106,105,584 

298,225,380 

148,450,298 

327,550,005 

20  BURNING   LIQUID    FUEL 

PETROLEUM  PRODUCED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES— Cont'd 


Year 

Oklahoma 

Wyoming 

Louisiana 

Montana 

Other 

Prior  to  1908 

BBLS. 

1)45,084,441 

BBLS. 

c85,785 

BBLS. 

27,413,511 

BBLS. 

BBLS. 

d21  471 

1908  

45,798,765 

£17,775 

5,788,874 

d!5  246 

1909  
1910  

47,859,218 
52,028,718 

£20,056 
£115,430 

3,059,531 
6,841,395 

do,750 
d3,615 

1911  

56,069,637 

£186,695 

10,720,420 

d7,995 

1912  

51,427,071 

1,572,306 

9,263,439 

1913  

63,579,384 

2,406,522 

12,498,828 

ilO,843 

1914  

73,631,724 

3,560,375 

14,309,435 

J7,792 

1915 

97  915  243 

4  245  525 

18  191  539 

j!4  265 

1916  

107,071,715 

6,234,137 

15,248,138 

44,917 

J7,705 

1917  

107,507,471 

8,978,680 

11,392,201 

99,399 

klO,300 

1918 

103  347  070 

12,596,287 

16  042,600 

69,323 

k7943 

851,320,457 

40,019,573 

150,769,911 

213,639 

112,925 

ANNUAL  PRODUCTION  AND  VALUE  OF  PETROLEUM  FOR  THE  UNITED 

STATES 


Year 

United  States 

Total  Value 

Prior  to  1908   

BBLS. 

1,806,608,463 

$1,657,113,275 

1908         

178,527,355 

129,079,184 

1909        

183,170,874 

128,328,487 

1910        

209,557,248 

127,899,688 

1911        

220,449,391 

134,044,752 

1912        .  .      

222,935,044 

164,213,247 

1913            

248,446,230 

237,121,388 

1914         

235,762,535 

214,125,215 

1915         

281.104,104 

179,462,890 

1916        

300,767,158 

330,899,868 

1917           .     

335,315,601 

522,635,213 

1918  

355,927,716 

703,943,961 

4,608,571,719 

$4,528,867,168 

a — Includes  Oklahoma  in  1905  and  190o. 
b — Production  for  1905  and  1906  included  in  Kansas. 
c— Includes  Utah  in  1907. 
d — Michigan  and  Missouri. 
e — No  production  recorded  for  Tennessee. 
f — Includes  Utah, 
g — Includes  Michigan, 
h — Includes  Alaska. 

i — Alaska,  Michigan,  Missouri  and  New  Mexico, 
j — Alaska,  Michigan  and  Missouri, 
k — Alaska  and  Michigan. 

I  am  indebted  to  the  Department  o£  the  Interior,  United  States  Geological  Survey, 
for  the  above  data. 


LIQUID  FUEL  PRODUCTION  AND  ANALYSIS  21 

SUMMARY  OF  PRODUCTION  BY  FIELDS 


Field 

Preliminary 
Estimates 
1919 

Final 
Figures 
1918 

Appalachian                 

29,232,000 

25,401,466 

Lima-Indiana 

3,444,000 

3,220,722 

Illinois               

12,436,000 

13,365,974 

Mid-Continent  : 
Oklahoma-Kansas               

115,897,000 

148,798,087 

Central  and  North  Texas  

67,419,000 

17,280,612 

North  Louisiana 

13,575,000 

13,304,399 

Gulf  Coast                   

20,568,000 

24,207,620 

Rocky  Mountain  

13,584,000 

12,808,896 

California  (a)  

101,564,000 

97,531,997 

377,719,000 

6355,927,716 

a — Average  of  figures  collected  by  the  Standard  Oil  Company  and  the  Independent  Producers'  Agency. 

b — Including  7,943  barrels  produced  in  Alaska  and  Michigan. 

We  are  indebted  to  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  United  States  Geological  Survey,  for  the  above  data. 


January- July,  inclusive,  1919 


Field 

Total 

Daily  Average 

Appalachian                                       

17,462,000 
2,076,000 
7,496,000 

63,243,000 
36,005,000 
6,840,000 
11,712,000 
8,025,000 
59,390,000 

82,368 
9,792 
35,359 

298,316 
169,835 
32,264 
55,245 
37,854 
280,142 

Lima  —  Indiana  and  Southwest  Indiana.  . 
Illinois                       

Mid-Continent: 
Oklahoma-Kansas         

Central  and  North  Texas 

North  Louisiana 

Gulf  Coast 

Rocky  M^ountain 

California 

212,249,000 

1,001,175 

Field 

July,  1920 

Jan.  -July,  inclusive,  1920 

Total 

Daily 
Average 

Total 

Daily 
Average 

Appalachian  
Lima  —  Indiana    and    South- 
west Indiana                     .  .  . 

2,613,000 

275,000 
925,000 

12,919,000 
5,912,000 
3,293,000 
2,296,000 
1,603,000 
8,583,000 

84,290 

8,871 
29,839 

416,742 
190,709 
106,226 
74,065 
51,710 
276,871 

17,165,400 

1,751,000 
6,386,000 

85,857,000 
38,845,000 
20,473,000 
13,751,000 
9,646,600 
58,706,000 

80,589 

8,220 
29,981 

403,085 
182,371 
96,117 
64,559 
45,289 
275,615 

Illinois                          

Mid-Continent  : 
Oklahoma-Kansas  

Central  and  North  Texas  .  . 
North  Louisiana  

Gulf  Coast  

Rocky  Mountain  

California 

38,419,000 

1,239,323 

252,581,000 

1,185,826 

22 


BURNING   LIQUID   FUEL 


ESTIMATED  PRODUCTION 
OF  CRUDE  PETROLEUM  FOR  1919 

Production  of  Petroleum  in  the  United  States  in  Barrels  (Exclusive  of  Petroleum  consumed 
on  leases  and  of  producers'  stocks,  except  in  California). 


Field 

January 

February 

March 

April 

Appalachian       

2,420,000 

2,185,000 

2,453  000 

2  542  000 

Lima-Indiana                

271,000 

274,000 

282,000 

293  000 

Illinois              .          

1,094,000 

940,000 

1,166,000 

1,008  000 

Mid-Continent: 
Oklahoma-Kansas  

8,971,000 

7,887,000 

8,734,000 

8,387,000 

Central  and  North  Texas  

5,094,000 

4,479,000 

4,959,000 

4,762,000 

North  Louisiana  

962,000 

845,000 

936,000 

899,000 

Gulf  Coast        

1,630,000 

1,441,000 

1,890,000 

1,843,000 

Rocky  Mountain  

1,085,000 

990,000 

1,168,000 

1,259,000 

California  (a)  

8,669,000 

7,869,000 

8,646,000 

8,393,000 

30,196,000 

26,910,000 

30,234,000 

29,386,000 

Field 

May 

June 

July 

August 

Appalachian 

2,652,000 

2,539,000 

2,671,000 

2,474,000 

Lima-Indiana 

324,000 

311,000 

321,000 

306,000 

Illinois 

1,120,000 

1,062,000 

1,106,000 

1,040,000 

Mid-Continent: 
Oklahoma-Kansas 

8,652,000 

9,910,000 

10,693,000 

10,240,000 

Central  and  North  Texas  
North  Louisiana  
Gulf  Coast                            

4,913,000 
927,000 
1,621,000 

5,630,000 
1,064,000 
1,521,000 

6,168,000 
1,207,000 
1,766,000 

6,730,000 
1,286,000 
2,044,000 

Rocky  Mountain  

1,139,000 

1,131,000 

1,253,000 

1,079,000 

Calif  ornia  (a)  

8,637,000 

8,467,000 

8,709,000 

8,663,000 

29,985,000 

31,644,000 

33,894,000 

33,862,000 

Field 

September 

October 

November 

December 

Appalachian 

2,489,000 

2,513,000 

2,064,000 

2,230,000 

Lima-Indiana                                .  .  . 

277,000 

279,000 

247,000 

259,000 

Illinois                        

877,000 

1,064,000 

1,033,000 

926,000 

Mid-Continent: 
Oklahoma-Kansas  

10,976,000 

10,764,000 

10,408,000 

10,266,000 

Central  and  North  Texas  
North  Louisiana  

6,369,000 
1,304,000 

6,219,000 
1,262,000 

6,107,000 
1,249,000 

5,989,000 
1,634,000 

Gulf  Coast  

1,796,000 

1,543,000 

1,715,000 

1,758,000 

Rocky  IVIountain                              - 

1,169,000 

1,054,000 

1,137,000 

1,120,000 

California  (a)  

8,410,000 

8,621,000 

8,154,000 

8,326,000 

33,667,000 

33,319.000 

32,114,000 

32,508,000 

LIQUID  FUEL  PRODUCTION  AND  ANALYSIS          23 

WORLD'S  PRODUCTION  OF  CRUDE  PETROLUEM  IN  1918  AND 
SINCE  1857,  BY  COUNTRIES 


Country 

Production,  1918 

Total  Production,  1857-1918 

Bbls.  of 
42  Gallons 

Percentage 
of  Total 

Bbls.  of 
42  Gallons 

Percentage 
of  Total 

United  States  
Mexico  
Russia  
Dutch  East  Indies  (a) 
Rumania  

355,927,716 
63,828,327 
40,456,182 
13,284,936 
8,730,235 
b8,000,000 
7,200,000 
5,591,620 
c2,536,102 
2,449,069 
2,082,068 
2,079,750 
1,321,315 
711,260 
304,741 
190,080\ 
35,953/ 

69.15 
12.40 
7.86 
2.58 
1.70 
1.55 
1.40 
1.09 
.49 
.48 
.40 
.40 
.26 
.14 
.06 

.04 

4,608,571,719 
285,182,489 
1,873,999,199 
188,388,513 
151,408,411 
106,162,365 
14,056,063 
154,051,273 
24,414,387 
38,498,247 
7,432,391 
4,848,436 
4,296,093 
16,664,121 
24,425,770 
317,823) 
973,671  ( 
19,  167  f 
397,OOOJ 

61.41 
3.80 
24.97    . 
2.51 
2.02 
1.41 
.19 
2.05 
.33 
.51 
.10 
.07 
.06 
.22 
.33 

.02 

India  

Persia  
Galicia  

Peru  

Japan  and  Formosa.  . 
Trinidad  

Eevot 

Argentina  
Germany 

Canada 

Venezuela 

Italy 

Cuba 

Other  Countries 

514,729,354 

100.00 

7,504,107,138 

100.00 

a — Includes  British  Borneo. 

b — Estimated. 

c — Estimated  in  part. 

I  am  indebted  to  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  United  States  Geological  Survey,  for  the  above  data 

At  this  time  the  oil  fields  of  Mexico  are  attracting  a  great  deal 
of  attention  because  of  their  magnitude.  The  proven  territory 
of  oil-producing  land  in  Mexico  is  considered  by  many  scientists 
the  most  valuable  fields  on  this  planet,  and  those  who  have  carefully 
examined  the  fields  and  are  competent  to  judge  prophesy  that  that 
country  will  produce  more  oil  than  the  combined  production  of  all 
other  sections  of  the  world.  The  Mexican  oil  is  high  in  calorific 
value  per  gallon,  and  is  especially  adapted  for  fuel  in  its  crude  state 
but  not  for  refining.  It  is  therefore  fortunate  that  these  fields  have 
been  discovered  in  order  to  supply  the  growing  demand  for  crude 
oil,  but  I  believe  that  other  new  fields  will  be  discovered  and  de- 
veloped with  the  ever-increasing  demand  until  every  coal-producing 
country  will  have  an  abundant  supply  of  petroleum.  The  crude  oil 
of  Russia,  Rumania  and  Borneo  has  approximately  the  same  calo- 


24 


BURNING    LIQUID    FUEL 


rific  value  as  that  of  the  Beaumont  fields  in  Texas,  while  the  oil  thus 
far  discovered  in  Argentine  Republic,  Chile  and  Peru  is  of  approxi- 
mately the  same  calorific  value  and  gravity  as  the  California 
petroleum. 

Of  the  total  production  last  year  (1920),  the  United  States 
supplied  443,402,000  barrels,  or  64.4  per  cent.  Mexico  produced 
159,800,000  barrels,  or  23.2  per  cent,  of  the  world's  output.  By 
far  the  greatest  gains  were  made  by  this  country  and  Mexico. 
United  States  production  increased  from  377,719,000  barrels  in 
1919  to  443,402,000  barrels  in  1920,  and  Mexico  increased  its  pro- 
duction from  87,072,954  barrels  to  159,800,000  barrels.  The  esti- 
mated production,  in  barrels,  by  countries,  follows: 


1920 

1919 

United  States              .                ... 

443  402,000 

377,719,000 

Mexico      .    .                        .        . 

159  800  000 

87,072,954 

Russia  (estimated)  ... 

30  000  000 

34,284,000 

Dutch  East  Indies  

16  000,000 

15,780,000 

India 

8  500,000 

8,453,800 

Rumania 

7  406,318 

6,517,748 

Persia 

6  604,734 

6,289,812 

Galicia 

6  000,000 

6,255,000 

Peru 

2  790,000 

2,561,000 

Japan  and  Formosa    . 

2  213,083 

2,120,500 

TriniJad 

1  628,837 

2,780,000 

Argentina 

1  366,926 

1,504,300 

E«rvnt 

1  089,213 

1,662,184 

Fran  30 

700,000 

Venezuela 

500,000 

321,396 

Canada 

220,000 

220,100 

Germany 

215,340 

925,000 

Italy                                                        

38,000 

38,254 

Total                                               

688,474,251 

554,505,048 

The  above  figures  have  been  compiled  by  the  American  Petroleum  Institute,  to  which  I  am  indebted 

There  are  two  kinds  of  oil  or  petroleum,  one  having  paraffine 
base  and  the  other  asphaltum  base.  Either  may  be  used  as  fuel 
in  its  crude  state,  but  both  are  largely  distilled  in  order  to  obtain 
the  more  volatile  oils  such  as  gasoline,  benzine,  kerosene,  etc.  The 
residue  is  called  Fuel  Oil  and  is  used  in  every  class  of  service  where 
coal,  coke,  wood  or  gas  can  be  used.  It  has  proven  a  most  superior 
fuel  because  the  operator  has  the  fire  under  perfect  control  at  all 
times  and  can  attain  and  maintain  the  heat  required. 


LIQUID  FUEL  PRODUCTION  AND  ANALYSIS  25 

The  analysis  of  Fuel  Oil  is  as  follows: 

Carbon   84.35% 

Hydrogen 11.33% 

Oxygen 2.82% 

Nitrogen    60% 

Sulphur    90% 

Gravity,  from  26  to  28  Baume.    Weight  per  gallon,  7.3  pounds. 
Vaporizing  point,  130  degrees  Fahr.     Calorific  Value  varies  from 
18,350  to  19,348  B.t.u.  per  Ib. 
Analysis  of  Beaumont  (Texas)  Crude  Oil: 

Carbon 84.60% 

Hydrogen 10.90% 

Sulphur    1.63% 

Oxygen 2.87% 

Gravity,  21  Baume.  Weight  per  gallon,  7.5  Ibs.  Calorific  value, 
19,060  B.t.u.  per  Ib.  Vaporizing  point,  142  deg.  Fahr. 

California  oil  varies  in  gravity  from  12  to  36°  gravity  Baume. 
Analysis  of  California  Crude  Oil  (14  to  16°  gravity  Baume)  : 

Carbon   81.52% 

Hydrogen 11.01% 

Sulphur    55% 

Nitrogen  and  Oxygen 6.92% 

Weight  per  gallon,  approximately  8  Ibs.  Calorific  value,  approxi- 
mately 18,550  B.t.u.  per  Ib.  Vaporizing  point,  230  deg.  Fahr. 

Mexican  Topped  Oil  runs  approximately  14°  to  16°  gravity 
Baume,  and  vaporizes  at  175°F. ;  but  the  bottom  oil  or  the  oil 
that  is  left  near  the  bottom  of  the  earthen  reservoir  varies  in 
gravity  from  11°  to  12°  Baume  and  vaporizes  at  from  205°  to 
210°F.  The  weight  of  this  bottom  oil  is  approximately  8.2  Ibs.  per 
gallon. 

Analysis  of  Mexican  Topped  Crude  Oil    (Tampico  Fields)  : 

Carbon 82.83% 

Hydrogen 12.19% 

Oxygen 43% 

Nitrogen 1.72% 

Sulphur    2.83% 

Weight  per  gallon,  approximately  8  Ibs.  Calorific  value,  approxi- 
mately 18,490  B.t.u.  per  Ib.  Vaporizing  point,  175  cleg.  Fahr. 

NOTE: — The  British  unit  cf  heat,  or  British  thermal  unit  (B.t.u.)  herein  referred  to,  is  that 
quantity  of  heat  which  is  required  to  raise  the  temperature  of  1  pcund  of  pure  water  1  degree 
Fahrenheit  at  39  degrees  Fahrenheit,  the  temperature  of  maximum  density  of  water. 


26  BURNING    LIQUID    FUEL 

Oil  tar  is  a  by-product  of  the  water  gas  system  used  in  numerous 
gas  works.  Coal  tar  is  a  by-product  from  coke  oven  benches.  When 
either  of  these  tars  are  heated  sufficiently  to  reduce  their  viscosity 
they  are  a  most  excellent  fuel.  Per  pound  their  calorific  value  is 
less  than  that  of  oil,  but  as  they  weigh  from  9.5  to  10  pounds  per 
gallon,  while  fuel  oil  only  weighs  7.3  pounds  per  gallon,  their 
calorific  value  per  gallon  is  greater  than  that  of  fuel  oil.  Oil  tar 
has  a  calorific  value  of  16,970  B.t.u.  per  pound  or  161,200  B.t.u. 
per  gallon,  while  that  of  coal  tar  is  16,260  B.t.u.  per  pound  or 
162,600  B.t.u.  per  gallon. 

Analysis  of  London  Tar  and  Tar  from  Dominion  Coal : 

London  Dominion 

Carbon  77.53  81.50 

Hydrogen  6.33  5.68 

Nitrogen  1.03                                   

Oxygen  14.50  12.45 

Sulphur  .61  .37 


Comparison  between  Oil  and  Coal  or  other  Fuels  in  Various  Services 

From  data  secured  as  a  result  of  hundreds  of  tests  and  in  order 
to  show  the  value  of  liquid  fuel  in  various  forms  of  equipment,  I 
give  the  following  data  which  will  furnish  food  for  thought  and 
which  may  prove  beneficial  to  manufacturers  in  this  and  foreign 
countries.  It  can  easily  be  seen  that  one  cannot  estimate  the 
value  of  fuel  oil  by  computing  its  calorific  value  without  knowing 
the  service  to  which  the  fuel  is  to  be  applied.  So  many  engineers 
fail  in  their  estimates  simply  because  they  have  never  run  tests 
in  burning  liquid  fuel  against  coal  fuel.  When  using  liquid  fuel 
one  can  attain  and  maintain  perfect  combustion,  but  of  course  this 
cannot  be  done  while  burning  bituminous  coal. 

In  marine  service  using  mechanical  burners  it  requires  180 
gallons  of  oil  to  represent  a  long  ton  (2,240  pounds)  of  coal  having 
a  calorific  value  of  14,000  B.t.u.  per  pound.  In  tug  boat  service, 
using  atomizing  burners,  it  requires  147  gallons  of  oil  to  represent 
a  long  ton  of  coal.  Two  tug  boats  equipped  with  oil  fuel  can  readily 
perform  the  same  amount  of  service  that  three  tugs  can  using 
coal  as  fuel. 

In  locomotive  service,  using  atomizing  burners,  180  gallons  of 


LIQUID  FUEL  PRODUCTION  AND  ANALYSIS  27 

oil  will  represent  a  long  ton  of  coal.  The  tonnage  of  the  locomotive 
may  be  increased  15%  immediately  after  being  changed  from  coal 
to  oil. 

In  power  plants  with  water  tube  boilers  using  atomizing  burners, 
it  requires  147  gallons  of  oil  to  represent  a  long  ton  of  coal. 

In  large  forging  plants  82  gallons  of  oil  equal  a  long  ton  of  coal. 
In  small  drop  forging  furnaces  it  requires  62  gallons  of  oil  to 
represent  a  long  ton  of  coal. 

In  heat-treating  furnaces  with  high  temperatures  63  gallons  of 
oil  are  equivalent  to  a  long  ton  of  coal.  In  heat-treating  furnaces 
with  low  temperatures  for  drawing  purposes  only  56  gallons  of 
oil  are  required  to  represent  a  ton  of  coal. 

In  flue-welding  furnaces,  welding  safe  ends  of  locomotive  flues, 
only  58  gallons  of  oil  are  required  to  represent  a  ton  of  coal.  The 
reason  for  this  is  obvious.  You  cannot  make  a  welding  heat  with 
a  green  fire.  You  must  coke  your  fire  and  in  so  doing  you  not  only 
lose  the  volatile  matter  from  the  coal  but  you  also  lose  valuable 
time  while  coking  the  coal. 

Of  course  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  bituminous  coal 
referred  to  has  always  the  calorific  value  of  14,000  B.t.u.  per  pound, 
and  is  figured  by  long  ton  (2,240  pounds) . 

The  oil  referred  to  has  a  calorific  value  of  19,000  B.t.u.  per 
pound,  and  weighs  7%  pounds  per  gallon. 

3%  barrels  of  oil  (42  gallons  per  barrel)  are  equivalent  to  5,000 
pounds  hickory  or  4,550  pounds  of  white  oak. 

6  gallons  of  oil  represent  1,000  cubic  feet  of  natural  gas,  the  gas 
having  a  calorific  value  of  1,000  B.t.u.  per  cubic  foot. 

31/2  gallons  of  oil  equal  1,000  cubic  feet  of  commercial  or,  water 
gas,  having  a  calorific  value  of  620  B.t.u.  per  cubic  foot. 

2%  gallons  of  oil  equal  1,000  cubic  feet  of  by-product  coke  oven 
gas,  having  a  ca^rific  value  of  440  B.t.u.  per  cubic  foot. 

42  gallons  of  oil  equal  1,000  cubic  feet  of  blast  furnace  gas  of 
90  B.t.u.  per  cubic  foot. 

This  gas  is  used  in  this  country  in  boilers  and  also  in  large  fur- 
naces but  requires  coal  tar  or  oil  to  aid  in  the  keeping  up  of  the 
required  horse-power  of  the  boilers,  or  in  furnishing  the  tempera- 
ture required  for  the  heating  furnaces.  Oil  or  coal  tar  are  excellent 
fuels  which  can  be  readily  used  as  fuel  to  operate  in  conjunction 
with  the  blast  furnace  gas  in  boilers  or  large  furnace  practice. 
Usually  10  gallons  of  coal  tar  are  made  from  every  ton  of  coal  coked 


28 


BURNING   LIQUID   FUEL 


in  by-product  coke  ovens.    This  tar  has  a  calorific  value  of  162,000 
B.t.u.  per  gallon  and  weighs  10  pounds  per  gallon. 

The  following  list  showing  typical  value  of  the  various  kinds  of 
fuel  may  be  of  service  to  the  reader : 


Kind 

D.  T.  U. 
per 
Pound 

Pounds 
per 
Gallon 

B.  T.  U.     * 
per 
Gallon 

Liquid: 
Fuel  Oil  (residuum  of  Petroleum)  
Beaumont  crude  petroleum              .  .  . 

19,000 
19,060 
19,500 
18,820 
18,940 
16,120 
13,140 
10,080 
16,260 
16,970 

15,391 
12,141 
10,506 
13,189 
13,000 
5,280 
8,160 
5,120 

550  to     6 
800  to  1,0 
130 
440 

7.3 
7.5 
7.6 
7.5 
7.5 
7.2 
5.7 
5.6 
10.0 
9.5 

138,700 
142,950 
147,200 
141,150 
142,050 
116,000 
74,900 
56,500 
162,600 
161,200 

California  crude  petroleum  .    .  . 

Lima  crude  petroleum 

Pennsylvania  crude  petroleum  
Kerosene 

Denaturized  alcohol 

Alcohol  (90  per  cent) 

Coal  tar 

Oil  tar  

Solid 
Pocahontas  coal                     

Bituminous  coal  (Pittsburgh)  

Bituminous  coal  (Illinois)  

Anthracite                           

Coke                                        ... 

Turf  (dried)                           

Ppat                                     

Oak  wood                               .... 

Gaseous 
Illuminating  gas  (city  coal  gas)  
Natural  gas 

50  B.  T.  U.  per  Cu.  Ft. 
QO  B.  T.  U.  per  Cu.  Ft. 
B.  T.  U.  per  Cu.  Ft. 
B.  T.  U.  per  Cu.  Ft. 

Producer  gas  

By-product  coke  oven  gas  

In  nearly  every  country  on  the  face  of  the  globe  there  are  mil- 
lions of  tons  of  coal  of  very  little  calorific  value  that  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  burn  without  the  aid  of  some  gaseous  or  liquid  fuel. 
Fortunes  can  be  made  by  utilizing  in  combination  with  oil  the  coal 
and  coal  products  now  wasted.  For  example,  in  the  State  of  Rhode 
Island  there  is  graphitic  coal  which  has  a  calorific  value  of  only 
7840  B.t.u.  per  pound.  Owing  to  the  lack  of  volatile  matter  it  is 
difficult  to  burn  this  coal,  but  with  the  aid  of  liquid  fuel  (as  shown 
in  Fig.  6)  this  coal  burns  readily. 

Pulverized  coal  is  delivered  to  the  hopper  and  is  fed  in  the  man- 
ner shown  upon  the  flat  sheet  of  steam  or  compressed  air  produced 
by  the  oil  burner,  which  carries  the  pulverized  coal  through  the 
combustion  chamber  and  delivers  it  as  heat  into  the  furnace.  The 


LIQUID  FUEL  PRODUCTION  AND  ANALYSIS 


29 


graphitic  coal  must  of  course  be  dried  and  pulverized  in  the  usual 
manner.  By  this  method  the  proper  quantity  of  graphitic  coal  can 
be  delivered  to  the  furnace,  using  say  20  per  cent  oil  and  80  per 
cent  pulverized  coal.  The  flat  flame  oil  burner  supplies  the  oil  as 
well  as  the  force  for  carrying  the  pulverized  coal  through  the  com- 
bustion chamber.  (See  Fig.  14,  page  38.) 

Of  course,  water  gas  tar  or  coal  tar  can  be  used  instead  of  crude 
oil  if  desired. 


Fig.  6.    Apparatus  for  burning  liquid  fuel  in  combination  with  pulver- 
ized coal  or  graphitic  coal  in  melting,  forging  or  heating  furnaces. 

Heat  of  Combustion 

The  chemical  combination  of  a  combustible  with  oxygen  disen- 
gages energy  in  the  form  of  heat. 

The  quantity  or  measure  of  this  heat  may  be  expressed  in  British 


30 


BURNING   LIQUID    FUEL 


thermal  units  (B.t.u.)  or  the  quantity  of  heat  required  to  raise  the 
temperature  of  one  pound  of  water  one  degree  Fahrenheit. 

The  number  of  British  thermal  units  released  by  the  combustion 
of  one  pound  of  the  following  substances,  and  the  resultant  tem- 
peratures are : 

Hydrogen    burned  to  H20,  62,032  B.t.u.  Temp.  5,898°F. 
Carbon          burned  to  C02, 14,500  B.t.u.  Temp.  4,939°F. 
Carbon         burned  to  CO,    4,452  B.t.u.  Temp.  2,358°F. 
The  great  loss  of  heat  due  to  the  incomplete  combustion  of  car- 


Fig.  7.    Retort  for  determining  vaporization  point  of  petroleum. 

bon  is  shown  by  the  difference  between  the  total  heat  of  perfect 
combustion  of  carbon  to  C02  (14,500  B.t.u.),  and  that  of  carbon  to 
CO  (4,452  B.t.u.) 

One  pound  of  carbon  when  imperfectly  burned  produces  12±L6  = 

2%  pounds  of  carbon  monoxide. 

If  this  quantity  of  gas  is  burned  to  carbon  dioxide  the  total 


LIQUID  FUEL  PRODUCTION  AND  ANALYSIS 


31 


amount  of  heat  released  will  be  14,500—4,452=10,048  B.t.u. ;  there- 
fore the  calorific  value  of  one  pound  of  carbon  monoxide  is.. 10'048 
=4,312  B.t.u. 

Testing  Instruments 

Steam  is  used  in  the  lower  chamber  of  the  re- 
tort shown  in  Fig.  7.  The  top  opening  is 
covered  with  a  piece  of  cardboard  having  an  %" 
opening  therein.  When  the  steam  has  heated  the 
oil  so  that  vapor  is  seen  passing  out  of  this  small 
opening  in  the  cardboard  cover,  a  temperature  has 
been  reached  which  is  known  as  the  vaporizing 
point  of  the  oil.  When  vapor  is  thus  visible,  the 
oil  has  been  heated  to  the  temperature  at  which 
when  burned,  it  gives  an  intermittent  fire.  A 
thermometer  is  placed  on  the  retort  so  that  the 
temperature  of  the  oil  at  the  vaporizing  point 
may  be  recorded,.  The  oil  should  be  delivered  to 
the  burner  at  a  temperature  three  or  four  de- 
grees lower  than  the  vaporizing  point  as  recorded 
by  the  thermometer. 

To  ascertain  the  quantity  of  water  contained  in 
oil,  fill  the  Water  Test  Cylinder  (Fig.  8)  with 
gasoline  to  the  point  marked  30  and  then  add 
crude  oil  until  it  reaches  the  place  marked  60  on 
the  cylinder.  Expose  the  cylinder  with  its  con- 
tents to  the  sun  for  several  hours  until  the  gas- 
oline is  all  evaporated.  The  percentage  of  water 
in  the  oil  is  that  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  cylin- 
der affer  the  gasoline  has  evaporated. 

In  order  to  ascertain  the  gravity,  fill  the  glass 
cylinder  shown  in  Fig.  9  with  oil  and  place  therein 
the  hydrometer  thermometer. 


Fig.  8  Water 
test  cylinder 
used  to  test  the 
oil  for  water 
content. 


A  calorimeter  is  an  instrument  used  for  testing  liquid  fuel  in 
order  to  find  out  the  number  of  British  thermal  units  (B.t.u.) 
which  it  contains.  Parr's  calorimeter  or  any  other  approved  make 
should  be  used. 


32 


BURNING   LIQUID    FUEL 


Fig.  9.     Glass  cylinder  and  hydrometer  thermometer. 


Chapter    III 
ATOMIZATION 

Thousands  of  patents  have  been  issued  by  our  Government  to 
inventors  covering  oil  or  tar  atomizers  or  burners.  Many  of  these 
inventions  involve  the  same  principle  and  all  may  be  grouped  in 
three  distinct  classes,  viz. :  mechanical,  internal  mixing  and  exter- 
nal atomizing.  Many  people  have  supposed  that  by  simply  mash- 
ing down  a  piece  of  pipe  and  coupling  it  to  a  steam  or  air  and  oil 


I 


COMPRESSEDAIR 
OB  DRY  STEAM 


DIRECTION  OF4 


STEAM  OR  AIR 


OIL  ORTAR 


Fig.  10.     High  pressure,  external  atomizing  oil  burner. 

supply  line,  they  have  evolved  a  cheap  burner;  a  burner  which, 
in  99  cases  out  of  100,  they  have  seen  working  in  some  other  shop. 
They  very  seldom  state  just  where  they  have  seen  it  in  operation 
and  often  claim  that  it  is  their  own  invention,  and  that  it  only  cost 
about  fifteen  or  twenty  cents  to  make.  But  there  is  another  side 
to  be  considered.  The  first  cost  of  an  article  may  be  a  trifle  but 
that  is  no  sign  that  the  article  is  really  cheap.  One  must  consider 
what  the  device  will  have  cost  in  time,  labor  and  fuel  at  the  expira- 
tion of  a  year  or  more.  One  of  the  greatest  abuses  of  liquid  fuel  is 
the  endeavor  to  use  it  with  burners  that  do  not  thoroughly  atomize 
the  oil  and  evenly  distribute  the  heat  throughout  the  entire  fire- 

33 


34  BURNING   LIQUID    FUEL 

box  or  the  charging  space  of  the  furnace.  A  burner  should  be  of 
such  construction  that  it  can  be  filed  or  fitted  to  make  a  long  nar- 
row flame  or  a  broad  fan-shaped  blaze,  fitting  the  entire  length 
and  width  of  a  fire-box  or  furnace  as  evenly  as  a  blanket  covers 
a  bed.  A  burner  wherein  the  base  of  the  fuel  carbonizes  over  the 
fuel  passage  is  absolutely  worthless,  for  it  should  be  capable  of 
atomizing  any  gravity  of  fuel  procurable  in  the  open  market  with- 
out either  clogging  or  carbonizing,  no  matter  whether  it  be  fuel 
oil  of  very  light  gravity  or  crude  oil,  oil  tar  or  coal  tar.  A  burner 
is  not  worthy  of  consideration  unless  it  enables  the  operator  to 
burn  any  gravity  of  liquid  fuel,  for  no  manufacturer  should  be 
limited  to  the  purchase  of  one  particular  kind  of  fuel.  There 
should  be  no  internal  tubes,  needle  points  or  other  mechanism 
which  will  clog,  wear  away  or  get  out  of  order  readily.  Each  burner 
should  be  thoroughly  tested  so  that  when  it  leaves  the  shop  where 
it  is  made  the  manufacturer  knows  that  it  will  fill  the  requirements 
for  which  it  is  being  furnished. 

Considering  that  air  contains  20.7  parts  oxygen  and  79.3  parts 
nitrogen,  at  62  deg.  Fahr.  1  Ib.  of  air  occupies  13,141  cu.  ft.  At 
100  deg.  Fahr.  this  air  occupies  14,096  cu.  ft.  Theoretically  it  re- 
quires 13%  to  14%  Ibs.  of  air  to  effect  the  perfect  combustion  of 
1  Ib.  of  oil.  Allowing  14  Ibs.  at  62  deg.  Fahr.  it  would  require 
183.97  cu.  ft.  of  air  to  effect  perfect  combustion  of  1  Ib.  of  oil  or  at 
100  deg.  Fahr.  it  would  require  197.34  cu.  ft.  of  air.  Practically  it 
requires  from  17%  to  19%  Ibs.  of  air  to  effect  perfect  combustion 
of  1  Ib.  of  oil.  Allowing  19  Ibs.  at  62  deg.  Fahr.  this  air  occupies 
249.68  cu.  ft.  or  at  100  deg.  Fahr.  it  occupies  267.82  cu.  ft.  Allow- 
ing 1  gal.  of  oil  to  weigh  7%  Ibs.,  practically  it  requires  142% 
Ibs.  of  air  to  effect  the  perfect  combustion  of  1  gallon  of  oil  or 
1872%  cu.  ft.  of  air  at  62  deg.  Fahr.  or  at  100  deg.  Fahr.  it  will 
require  2009*4  cu.  ft.  It  is  therefore  essential  that  liquid  fuel  be 
thoroughly  atomized  so  that  the  oxygen  of  the  air  can  freely  unite 
with  it.  Except  where  mechanical  burners  are  used,  the  fuel  is 
atomized  by  means  of  high  or  low  pressure  air  or  steam.  Com- 
pressed air  or  steam  is  preferable  to  low  pressure  air  because  it 
requires  power  to  thoroughly  atomize  liquid  fuel.  With  low  pres- 
sure or  volume  air  you  are  limited  to  the  use  of  light  oils,  whereas 
with  compressed  air  or  steam  as  atomizer  you  can  use  any  gravity 
of  crude  oil,  fuel  oil,  kerosene  or  tar  which  will  flow  through  a  %- 
inch  pipe.  For  stationary  boilers  steam  at  boiler  pressure  is 


ATOMIZATION 


35 


ordinarily  used  to  atomize  the  fuel.  In  furnaces  the  most  economi- 
cal method  of  operation  is  the  use  of  a  small  quantity  of  compressed 
air  or  dry  steam  through  the  burner  to  atomize  the  fuel,  while  the 
balance  of  the  air  necessary  for  perfect  combustion  is  supplied 
independently  through  a  volume  air  nozzle  at  from  3  to  5  oz. 


Fig.  11.    Mechanical  burner. 

pressure.  Every  particle  of  moisture  which  enters  a  furnace  must 
be  counteracted  by  the  fuel  and  it  is  therefore  essential,  if  steam 
is  used  as  atomizer,  that  it  be  as  dry  as  possible.  It  is  folly  to 
attempt  to  use  steam  as  atomizer  on  a  small  furnace,  especially 
if  the  equipment  is  located  some  distance  from  the  boiler  room, 


36  BURNING    LIQUID  FUEL 

for  oil  and  hot  water  do  not  mix  advantageously.  Numerous  tests 
have  proven  that  with  steam  at  80  Ibs.  pressure  and  air  at  80  Ibs. 
pressure,  by  using  air  there  is  a  saving  of  12%  in  fuel  over  steam, 
but  of  this  12%  it  costs  8%  to  compress  the  air  (this  includes  inter- 
est on  money  invested  in  the  necessary  apparatus  to  compress  the 
air,  repairs,  etc.) ,  so  there  is  therefore  a  total  net  saving  of  4%  in 
favor  of  compressed  air. 


Fig.    12.      Low    pressure    or    volume    air    burner    with    oil 
regulating  cock. 

With  high  pressure  air  or  steam  as  atomizer  a  burner  having 
a  large  oil  orifice  below  the  atomizer  orifice  and  independent  of 
same  is  preferable,  because  there  can  then  be  no  liability  of  the  fuel 
solidifying  or  carbonizing  over  the  atomizer  slot  at  the  nose  of  the 
burner.  As  the  fuel  passes  out  perpendicularly,  as  shown  in  Fig.  10, 
it  is  struck  by  the  atomizer  coming  out  of  the  small  orifice  hori- 
zontally and  so  thoroughly  atomized  that  each  drop  of  fuel  is  dashed 
into  10,000  molecules  and  looks  like  a  fine  mist  or  spray.  This 
burner  is  provided  with  means  whereby  it  can  be  cleaned  or  blown 
out  without  removing  it  from  its  position  and  thus  any  foreign 
solid  particles  such  as  sand,  red  lead,  scale,  etc.,  can  readily  be  ex- 
pelled. It  produces  a  flat  flame  which  may  be  a  long  narrow  flame 
or  it  can  be  a  fan-shaped  flame  of  any  width  required,  up  to  nine 
feet.  This  burner  is  not  considered  automatic,  but  it  is  automatic 
in  its  action,  for  in  boiler  service  when  the  steam  pressure  lowers,  it 
reduces  the  compression  on  the  fuel  at  the  nose  of  the  burner  and 
thus  more  fuel  is  syphoned  out  of  the  fuel  orifice,  which,  of  course, 
increases  the  fire  and  brings  up  the  steam  pressure. 


ATOMIZATION 


37 


As  the  use  of  steam  means  a  waste  of  fresh  water  (which  is  a 
very  scarce  article  on  sea-going  vessels),  mechanical  burners  are 
attractive  for  marine  service  and  many  vessels  have  recently  been 
equipped  with  them.  With  many  of  these  burners  you  are,  how- 
ever, limited  to  very  light  crude  or  fuel  oil  and  there  has  been 
considerable  difficulty  experienced  in  preventing  the  paraffine  or 
asphaltum  base  of  the  fuel  from  clogging  the  delicate  mechanism 
of  the  burner.  The  grade  of  oil  required  for  the  average  mechan- 
ical burner  can  not  be  obtained  in  every  country,  and  as  that  capa- 
ble of  being  refined  is  being  so  largely  distilled  to  obtain  the  more 


Fig.  13.     Commercial  or  natural  gas  burner. 

volatile  and  valuable  oils,  the  supply  of  this  light  oil  is  very  limited. 
It  is  necessary  to  use  from  80  to  400  Ibs.  pressure  on  the  oil  sup- 
ply line  to  burners,  this,  of  course,  varying  with  the  gravity  of  the 
fuel.  The  internal  construction  is  such  that  the  fuel  is  atomized 
while  passing  through  the  body  and  out  of  the  nose  of  the  burner. 
A  centrifugal  air  compressor  operated  by  a  modern  type  of  turbine 
engine  (Fig.  20,  page  45)  has  been  developed  which,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  writer,  will  attract  a  great  deal  of  attention  from  marine 
engineers  because  with  this  system  any  gravity  of  liquid  fuel  pro- 
curable in  any  section  of  the  world  is  thoroughly  atomized,  perfect 
combustion  is  effected,  and  as  the  system  is  provided  with  con- 


38  BURNING   LIQUID   FUEL 

densers  there  is  no  appreciable  waste  of  fresh  water.  This  appa- 
ratus is  light,  compact,  durable  and  efficient,  and  furthermore 
high  pressure  is  not  required  on  the  fuel ;  20  Ibs.  air  pressure  is  car- 
ried with  this  system  to  atomize  the  fuel. 

Low  oil  pressure  can  be  used  and  is  preferable  for  a  low  pressure 
air  or  volume  air  burner.  In  this  type  of  burner,  the  light  crude 
oil  or  fuel  oil  used  as  fuel  flows  down  upon  and  through  the  sheet  of 
air.  In  order  to  get  the  benefit  of  the  full  impact  of  the  air  against 


Fig.  14.    Flat  flame  pulverized  coal  burner. 

the  fuel,  the  air  supply  should  be  regulated  at  the  mouth  of  the 
burner  as  shown  in  Fig.  12,  and  it  is  always  advisable  to  get  as 
simple  a  burner  as  possible  so  that  there  will  be  no  internal  tubes, 
needle  points  or  other  mechanism  to  wear  away,  clog,  carbonize  or 
get  out  of  order. 

A  natural  or  commercial  gas  burner,  such  as  is  shown  in  Fig.  13 
may  be  used  in  combination  with  an  oil  burner  if  desired.  It,  as 
well  as  the  pulverized  coal  burner  (Fig.  14),  is  very  simply  con- 
structed and  without  any  intricate  parts  to  get  out  of  order.  Both 
burners  can  be  made  to  produce  a  long  narrow  flame  or  a  broad 
fan-shaped  blaze  so  as  to  span  the  width  of  the  furnace  or  fire-box. 


Chapter  IV 
OIL  SYSTEMS 

The  method  or  manner  whereby  liquid  fuel  is  supplied  to  the 
burners  is  commonly  called  the  "oil  system."  Requirements  vary 
according  to  the  type  of  the  installation  and  the  fuel  burned,  but 
any  one  who  has  burned  oil  for  a  short  time  appreciates  that  the 
designing  of  an  oil  system  is  quite  an  engineering  feat  for  so  much 
of  the  success  of  the  equipment  depends  upon  the  oil  system.  Per- 
fect combustion  is  C02,  imperfect  is  CO.  If  you  have  one  moment 


fAOM       40       TO 


Fig.  16.   Position  of  thermometer  on  oil  supply  main. 

carbon  dioxide  and  the  next  moment  carbon  monoxide,  you  can 
readily  see  the  fuel  is  not  scientifically  consumed  and  this  results 
in  irreparable  loss  in  time  and  fuel.  The  air  pressure  should  be 
constant  and  the  fuel  should  flow  to  the  burner  under  a  constant 
steady  pressure,  no  matter  whether  that  pressure  be  1  pound,  20 
pounds  or  more  to  the  square  inch.  Light  oils,  which  vaporize  at 
about  130  degrees  Fahrenheit,  need  not  be  heated  but  heavy  oil  or 
tar  must  be  heated  sufficiently  to  reduce  the  viscosity  so  that  it  will 
flow  readily.  This  is  ordinarily  done  by  means  of  steam  coils.  Care 

39 


40  BURNING   LIQUID   FUEL 

however  must  be  taken  not  to  get  the  fuel  too  hot,  for  if  it  vaporizes 
you  can  not  pump  it.  The  vaporizing  point  of  the  various  fuels 
has  already  been  given  in  this  volume,  and  as  steam  at  100  pounds 
pressure  is  338  degrees  Fahrenheit  you  can  readily  see  that  it  is 
possible  to  heat  the  fuel  above  the  vaporizing  point.  Thermometers 
should  be  placed  at  various  points  throughout  the  works,  and  one 
should  be  conveniently  placed  for  the  man  who  is  responsible  for 
keeping  the  proper  temperature  upon  the  fuel. 

In  laying  the  piping  care  must  be  taken  to  keep  the  oil  supply 
pipes  below  the  level  of  the  burner  in  order  to  prevent  the  forma- 
tion of  vapor  pockets,  which  are  liable  to  entirely  shut  off  the  flow 
of  fuel.  All  pipe  fittings  should  be  malleable  iron.  All  unions  on 
pipe  lines  must  be  either  ground  joint  or  flange  unions  with  lead 
gaskets.  Rubber  gaskets  can  not  be  used  because  liquid  fuel  soon 
disintegrates  the  rubber.  The  use  of  a  paste  of  litharge  and  glycer- 
ine on  all  pipe  joints  will  prevent  their  leaking.  It  is  essential  to 
place  a  strainer  made  of  wire  netting  in  the  tank  to  prevent  lamp 
black  or  other  foreign  substances  from  getting  into  the  pipes  and 
valves  and  clogging  them. 

No  sane  person  to-day  would  venture  near  a  storage  tank  with 
a  lighted  pipe,  cigar,  torch  or  any  light  other  than  electricity,  but 
in  order  to  prevent  conflagration  and  serious  loss  of  property 
through  a  steel  storage  tank  being  struck  by  lightning,  or  getting  on 
fire  through  some  accident,  it  is  wise  to  run  a  large  steam  pipe  line 
from  the  boiler  room  into  the  top  of  the  tank.  There  should  be  a 
large  number  of  holes  in  the  pipe  in  the  tank  so  that  when  the  steam 
valve  in  or  near  the  boiler  room  is  opened,  the  steam  will  be  widely 
diffused  over  the  fuel  in  the  tank. 

Of  course  the  most  simple  system  is  that  often  used  in  gas  works, 
mines  and  other  places,  where  there  are  no  insurance  regulations  or 
city  ordinances  to  prevent  one  from  placing  the  tank  so  that  the 
fuel  will  flow  by  gravity,  the  supply  being  controlled  by  the  neces- 
sary valves.  The  bottom  of  the  oil  tank  is  ordinarily  placed  from 
four  to  six  feet  above  the  level  of  the  burners,  but  in  gas  houses 
often  the  tank  is  placed  on  top  of  the  boiler  so  that  the  heat  in  the 
boiler  room  will  heat  the  fuel  sufficiently  to  reduce  its  viscosity. 

Figure  17  shows  an  oil  supply  system  which  conforms  with  the 
Underwriters'  requirements  and  which  is  used  in  hundreds  of 
plants.  The  storage  tank,  placed  at  some  distance  from  any  build- 
ing, is  covered  with  two  feet  of  earth.  As  the  average  oil  tank 


OIL  SYSTEMS 


41 


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42  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

car  contains  about  6,000  gallons  I  always  recommend  oil  storage 
capacity  of  10,000  gallons  if  the  plant  is  on  a  railroad  siding.  Either 
one  large  tank  or  small  ones  coupled  together  as  shown  may  be 
used.  A  reciprocating  pump  is  preferable.  I  never  advocate  a 
rotary  pump  except  when  nothing  but  light  oils  will  be  used,  and 
even  then  a  rotary  pump  has  a  tendency  to  churn  the  fuel  into  a 
foam,  thereby  causing  slight  but  noticeable  explosions  in  the  fire- 
box or  furnace.  By  means  of  the  pump,  pulsometer  and  a  pressure 
release  valve  (set  at  12  pounds  pressure),  with  this  system  12 
pounds  pressure  is  constantly  maintained  on  the  main  oil  supply 
line  whether  one  or  a  dozen  burners  are  in  operation.  While  light 
oil  which  vaporizes  at  about  130  degrees  Fahrenheit  does  not  need 
to  be  heated,  oil  of  16  gravity  Baume  is  first  heated  by  means  of  a 
steam  coil  in  the  storage  tank  and  then  by  the  exhaust  from  the 
pump  so  that  after  passing  through  this  heater  it  is  fed  to  the 
burner  at  just  below  the  vaporizing  point. 

As  the  base  and  residuum  of  very  heavy  oil,  oil  tar  or  coal  tar 
has  a  tendency  to  clog  the  pressure  valve  used  in  the  above  system 
and  render  it  worthless,  it  is  sometimes  advisable  to  install  a 
"valveless  system"  similar  to  that  shown  in  Fig.  18.  In  this  case 
that  portion  of  the  oil  pumped  which  is  not  used  by  the  burners 
flows  into  a  column  or  standpipe  of  sufficient  height  to  give  six 
or  eight  pounds  pressure  on  the  oil  line,  and  then  back  again  to 
the  storage  tank.  With  this  arrangement  there  can  be  no  fluctua- 
tion in  the  oil  pressure.  Should  the  fuel  be  accidentally  heated  at 
any  time  above  the  vaporizing  point,  you  will  note  that  this  vapor 
can  readily  pass  out  of  the  top  of  the  standpipe  through  a  vent 
pipe  extending  above  the  roof  of  the  building  and  ten  feet  from 
any  smoke  stack.  In  case  the  Underwriters  do  not  permit  the 
use  of  a  column  or  standpipe,  it  is  necessary  to  use  the  pressure 
relief  valve. 

In  Fig.  19  is  shown  oil  system  used  for  heating  hotels,  office 
buildings,  etc.  An  electric  motor  operates  an  air  compressor 
which  supplies  air  to  force  the  fuel  from  the  storage  tank  to  burner 
and  also  the  air  required  through  the  burner  to  atomize  the  fuel. 
This  system  is  absolutely  reliable,  for  should  a  fuse  burn  out  the 
oil  and  air  supply  to  burner  are  stopped  simultaneously.  Or  an 
oil  or  gas  engine  may  be  used  and  the  compressor  operated  by  a 
counter-shaft.  In  this  case  should  the  engine  stop  or  belt  break, 


OIL  SYSTEMS 


43 


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44 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


the  compressor  will  at  once  cease  to  force  the  fuel  to  the  burner. 
Both  these  systems  are  simple,  safe  and  sane. 

For  marine  service,  where  the  prevention  of  the  waste  of  fresh 
water  requires  careful  consideration,  a  turbine  engine  with  con- 


Fig.  19.     Compressed  air  system — only  adequate  for  light  crude  or  fuel  oil. 


denser  may  be  used  to  operate  the  oil  pump  and  a  compressor  of 
adequate  size  to  furnish  air  at  sufficient  pressure  to  atomize  the 
gravity  of  oil  obtainable  in  any  port  and  to  distribute  the  heat  in 
the  fire-box,  also  the  additional  air  required  in  the  boiler  room. 
This  system  as  shown  in  Fig.  20  is  very  compact,  efficient  and 
economical.  As  the  engine  exhausts  into  a  condenser,  the  loss  of 
fresh  water  is  reduced  to  the  minimum.  While  oil  used  exclusively 
as  fuel  cannot  compete  with  the  price  of  coal  in  many  localities,  it 
is  very  necessary  to  use  it  to  aid  the  coal  fire  while  carrying  peak 
loads. 

To  effect  the  strictest  economy  crude  oil  or  tar  must  always  be 
heated  to  just  below  the  vaporizing  point.  With  the  heavy  oil, 
such  as  is  produced  in  Mexico,  it  is  sometimes  advantageous  to 
use  an  oil  superheater  so  that,  as  for  instance  on  a  locomotive,  if 


OIL  SYSTEMS 


45 


46  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

the  oil  is  not  heated  sufficiently  in  the  storage  tank  of  tender  or 
if  the  tank  has  just  been  refilled  at  the  end  of  a  division,  by  passing 
through  a  superheater  just  before  it  reaches  the  oil  regulating 
cock,  it  will  be  fed  to  the  burner  at  just  below  the  vaporizing 
point.  (See  Fig.  52,  page  76.)  When  burning  heavy  oil  in  fur- 
naces, if  the  fuel  must  come  considerable  distance,  it  is  often  es- 
sential to  preheat  it  near  the  burner  even  if  there  is  a  steam  heater 
pipe  immediately  under  the  oil  supply  line  from  the  storage  tank. 
A  superheater  is  also  valuable  for  heating  tar  between  the  storage 


Fig.  21.     Oil  regulating  cock. 


tank  and  the  burner  so  that  it  will  be  of  such  consistency  that  it 
can  be  readily  atomized. 

When  an  ordinary  globe  valve  is  used  to  regulate  the  fuel  sup- 
ply, and  the  valve  is  partly  closed,  the  small  opening  between  the 
valve  proper  and  the  seat  acts  as  a  strainer  and  any  residuum 
or  foreign  substances  in  the  oil  finally  closes  the  opening  and  cuts 
off  the  supply.  We  have  here  shown  an  oil  regulating  cock  provided 
with  a  V-shaped,  knife-edged  opening  in  the  plug,  which  not  only 
has  a  shearing  action  on  heavy  liquid  fuels,  but  enables  the  op- 
erator to  secure  the  finest  possible  adjustment.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  make  comparison  between  this  cock  and  an  ordinary  globe  valve 
or  plug  cock  to  any  intelligent  man  who  has  had  experience  in 
handling  liquid  fuel.  When  a  furnace  is  working  continuously  on 


OIL  SYSTEMS 


47 


48 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


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OIL  SYSTEMS 


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50  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

one  class  of  work,  this  cock  can  be  set  by  the  adjusting  screw  so 
that  when  the  burner  is  stopped  for  noon  hour,  or  at  night,  it  can 
be  returned  to  the  same  adjustment  when  again  started. 

Improper  Oil  System.     Please  note  the  following  points  while 
studying  Fig.  Nos.  22  and  23 : 

1.  There  is  no  foot  valve  or  strainer  upon  the  suction  pipe, 
which  causes  the  pump  to  labor  unnecessarily. 

2.  The  suction  pipe  is  so  installed  as  to  cause  a  vapor  pocket, 
which  results  in  the  pump  not  functioning  properly. 

3.  The  supply  pipe  rises  and  then  drops  again.     If  the  supply 
pipe  is  thus  laid,  the  result  is  that  there  is  a  vapor  pocket  in 
the  supply  pipe,  which  always  permits  vapor  to  collect  in  the 
pipe  and  causes  an  intermittent  flow  of  oil  to  the  burner. 

4.  There  is  a  "dead  end."     The  laterals  lead  from  the  supply 
pipe  to  the  boilers  or  furnaces   (whatever  the  oil  pumping 
system  is  for)  and  there  is  no  provision  for  any  circulation 
of  the  oil. 

5.  The  overflow  pipe  from  the  pressure  relief  valve  is  coupled 
to  the  suction  pipe,  which  is  absolutely  incorrect. 

6.  But  one  pump  is  provided,  and  should  the  piston  rod  of  this 
pump  break  (which  is  liable  to  happen  even  with  the  best 
construction)  the  result  is  that  the  plant  is  shut  down,  all 
the  officials  humiliated,  the  output  ceases  and  an  investiga- 
tion follows;  all  of  which  is  absolutely  unnecessary  if  the 
oil  pumping  system  is  properly  installed. 

An  Oil  System  which  never  disappoints  the  operator  is  shown 
in  Fig.  Nos.  24,  25,  26,  and  27. 

Proper  Oil  System.     Please  note  the  following: — 

1.  The  tank  is  buried  underground  to  conform  with  Under- 
writers' requirements. 

2.  The  pumps  are  above  the  oil  tank. 

3.  Oil  is  heated  by  means  of  modern  oil  heaters. 

4.  Two  pumps  and  heaters  are  supplied   (one  of  each  for  re- 
serve).   Each  pump  is  supplied  with  a  pump  speed  regula- 
tor so  that  in  case  the  oil  pressure  on  the  oil  supply  line  ex- 
ceeds 12  pounds  the  steam  operating  the  pump  is  automatic- 
ally shut  off,  which  in  turn  stops  the  operation  of  the  pump. 


OIL  SYSTEMS 


61 


52 


BURNING  LIQUID   FUEL 


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OIL  SYSTEMS 


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BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


5.  The  oil  supply  pipe  is  so  run  that  very  short  laterals  are  re- 
quired between  the  oil  supply  pipe  and  the  boilers  or  fur- 
naces. 

6.  The  pressure  relief  valve  is  set  beyond  the  last  boiler  or 
furnace  so  that  if  the  oil  is  heavy  and  must  be  heated,  hot 


Fig.  28,     Oil  pump  regulator. 

oil  is  delivered  to  all  of  the  furnaces  or  boilers  at  all  times 
at  the  proper  temperature. 

7.  There  are  absolutely  no  "dead  ends,"  but  a  perfect  circula- 
tion of  the  oil.  The  overflow  or  excess  oil  passes  through 
the  overflow  pipe  and  back  to  the  oil  storage  tank.  The 


OIL  SYSTEMS 


55 


overflow  pipe  is  declined  so  that  the  oil  will  flow  by  gravity 
from  the  relief  valve  to  the  tank. 


Fig.  29.  Modern 
combination  foot 
valve  and  strainer. 


Fig.  30.  Pressure  relief 
valve. 


Fig.   31. 
Pulsometer. 


8.  The  oil  supply  tank  is  provided  with  a  vent  pipe,  the  exit 
end  of  which  is  covered  with  gauze  so  that  the  vapor  rising 
from  the  oil  can  be  vented  from  the  vent  pipe  without  danger. 


56  BURNING  LIQUID   FUEL 

The  manner  of  applying  a  modern  oil  system  to  a  boiler  is  shown 
in  Figs.  33  and  34.  The  cost  for  installation  of  the  extra  pump  and 
heater  is  of  minor  importance  as  compared  with  a  possible  shut- 
down because  of  a  broken  piston  rod,  valve,  spring,  etc.  The  ex- 
haust of  either  pump  may  be  employed  for  the  heating  of  the  oil, 
or  if  it  is  not  desired  to  heat  the  oil,  the  exhaust  of  the  pump  may 
be  by-passed  to  the  open  air.  The  valves  upon  the  piping  are  so 
placed  as  to  control  the  flow  of  oil  to  either  one  heater  or  to  both 
heaters.  The  second  heater,  if  desired,  may  be  used  to  heat  the  oil 
by  means  of  direct  steam  from  the  boiler  to  a  higher  temperature 
than  can  be  obtained  from  the  exhaust  steam  of  the  pump.  The 
form  of  heater  recommended  is  shown  in  Fig.  32. 


Fig.  32.     Oil  heater. 

Sometimes  it  is  necessary  during  a  coal  strike  or  when  for  vari- 
ous other  reasons  the  coal  supply  fails,  to  burn  oil  as  an  emergency 
fuel.  In  such  a  case  it  is  advisable  to  use  the  temporary  installation 
shown  in  Fig.  39.  By  means  of  the  duplex  pump  and  pressure 
relief  valve  set  at  10  Ibs.  a  complete  circulating  system  is  effected 
and  the  excess  oil  is  pumped  back  into  the  oil  tank  car.  The  pump 
should  be  coupled  to  the  bottom  of  the  tank  and  it  is  quite  necessary 
to  place  a  valve  for  drainage.  This  is  a  good  system  to  use  if  you 
desire  to  run  a  test  in  a  furnace,  burning  oil  in  place  of  coal. 

Oil  storage  tanks  may  be  made  in  various  forms  and  of  various 
materials.  That  shown  in  Fig.  40  is  of  steel  and  you  will  note  that 
there  is  an  inner  compartment  provided  with  heater  coils  so  that 
only  approximately  the  quantity  of  fuel  needed  for  one  day  is  heated 
to  the  required  temperature.  This  insures  the  fuel  being  supplied 
to  the  burners  at  the  proper  temperature  and  prevents  deterioration 


OIL  SYSTEMS 


57 


58 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


OIL  SYSTEMS 


59 


60 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


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OIL  SYSTEMS 


61 


62 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


OIL  SYSTEMS 


63 


64 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


Fig.  40.     Cylindrical  steel 
storage  tank. 


OIL  SYSTEMS 


65 


66 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


or  loss  through  evaporation  of  the  more  volatile  gases  in  the  larger 
body  of  fuel. 

The  dimensions  of  the  walls  and  the  manner  of  constructing  or 
reinforcing  a  concrete  oil  storage  tank  depends  upon  the  location 


Fig.  42.     Large  cylindrical  concrete  oil  storage  tank. 


and  the  soil.  That  shown  in  Fig.  41  is  153  ft.  long,  40  ft. 
wide,  capacity  480,000  gallons.  The  bottom  of  this  tank  slopes 
down  toward  the  center  and  there  is  a  slump  hole  from  which  the 
sand  or  other  foreign  substance  may  be  removed  through  the  trap 


OIL  SYSTEMS  67 

door  on  top  of  the  small  compartment  immediately  above  the  slump. 
Heater  coils  are  so  placed  that  only  the  fuel  required  for  daily  con- 
sumption is  heated. 

Often  it  is  not  convenient  to  install  a  long  tank.  The  cylindrical 
form  is  shown  in  Fig.  42.  This  has  the  small  compartment  with  coils 
for  heating  one  day's  supply  in  the  center  of  the  larger  tank. 

The  Care  of  Oil  Tanks 

The  following  sign  should  always  be  placed  in  a  position  where 
it  can  easily  be  observed: — 
"No  smoking. 

"Do  not  come  near  these  tanks  with  an  open 
flame   torch    or   a   lantern,    nor  use   matches." 

It  is  very  important  that  great  care  be  taken  in  this  particular; 
and  when  it  becomes  necessary  to  enter  the  interior  of  a  tank,  all 
oil  should  be  removed  and  the  tank  steamed  for  at  least  one  week. 
Do  NOT  under  any  circumstances  allow  men  to  enter  a  tank  to 
remove  oil  if  it  contains  over  1%  sulphur.  It  is  criminal  careless- 
ness to  order  men  to  go  into  an  oil  tank  before  all  oil  is  removed 
and  the  tank  thoroughly  steamed  for  several  days,  for  the  effect 
of  the  sulphurous  gas  in  the  tank  would  possibly  destroy  the  lives 
of  many  men. 

Nothing  but  electric  lights  should  be  used  in  or  about  oil  tanks 
after  oil  has  once  been  placed  in  them. 

Since  it  is  a  fact  that  vapor  or  gas  is  constantly  passing  from 
the  oil  in  the  oil  tank,  it  is  absolutely  essential  to  provide  a  vent 
pipe  and  always  cover  this  vent  pipe  with  wire  gauze  of  1-16  inch 
mesh;  for  if  wire  gauze  were  not  placed  thereon  and  the  flame 
from  a  torch,  lantern,  oxy-acetylene  torch,  etc.,  should  come  with- 
in, say,  one  foot  of  this  vent,  it  would  almost  instantly  cause  an 
explosion.  You  should  use  every  precaution  to  prevent  such  an 
occurrence. 

To  find  the  capacity  of  a  cylinder  or  tank  in  gallons,  square  the 
diameter  in  inches  by  its  length  in  inches,  and  by  .0034 ;  or  square 
the  diameter  in  inches  by  its  length  in  feet  and  by  .0408;  or 
square  the  diameter  in  feet  and  by  its  length  in  feet  and  by  7.4805. 

Pyrometers,  thermometers,  draft  gauges,  oil  and  water  meters, 
etc.,  are  all  good  paying  investments,  and  tend  to  increase  the 
efficiency  of  a  plant. 


68 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


Fig.  43.     Diagram  showing  central  compartment  with  piping,  heaters,  etc.,  in 

cylindrical  concrete  tank. 


Chapter  V 
REFRACTORY  MATERIAL 

Poor  fire-brick  should  never  be  used  as  it  is  most  disappointing 
both  to  the  builder  and  owner  of  the  furnace.  It  takes  as  much 
time  and  labor  to  construct  a  furnace  of  poor  fire-brick  as  of 
good  brick.  Poor  brick  is  dear  at  any  price,  no  matter  what  may 
be  the  fuel  used. 

The  excessive  heat  which  can  be  obtained  from  liquid  fuel  makes 
it  necessary  in  many  instances  to  use  a  very  superior  grade  of  fire- 
brick. For  example,  in  welding  furnaces  the  lining  should  be 
capable  of  withstanding  3,000  degrees  Fahrenheit  without  dripping 
or  melting  away,  while  in  crucible  melting  furnaces  the  fire-brick 
must  be  capable  of  withstanding  the  high  temperature  required 
to  melt  fourteen  pots  of  crucible  steel  at  one  heat.  These  bricks 
must  be  non-expanding,  for  if  they  were  to  expand  in  the  same 
proportion  as  silica  brick,  the  furnace  lining  would  become  six 
inches  too  long,  which  amount  of  expansion  would  ruin  the  con- 
struction of  the  furnace.  The  analysis  of  brick  for  crucible  fur- 
naces is  as  follows: 


Silica    56.15  % 

Alumina     33.295% 

Peroxide   Iron 0.59  % 

Lime     0.17  % 

Magnesia 0.115% 

Water  and  inorganic  matter 9.68  % 

In  open  hearth  furnaces  a  silica  brick  is  essential  because  it  will 
withstand  the  required  high  temperature,  and  as  these  furnaces 
are  operated  continually  the  expansion  and  contraction  of  this 
brick  has  not  the  detrimental  effect  in  this  class  of  service  which 
it  has  in  a  furnace  which  is  only  operated  eight  or  ten  hours  daily. 
In  annealing  furnaces,  owing  to  the  lower  temperature  required 
for  the  heat-treatment  of  metals,  it  is  not  necessary  to  use  such 
good  quality  of  brick.  It  is,  however,  essential  that  these  bricks 

69 


70  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

do  not  expand  nor  contract.  It  is  also  very  necessary  that  the  fur- 
nace be  carefully  constructed  by  a  competent  furnace  builder,  for 
the  bricks  should  not  be  laid  in  layers  of  fire  clay  the  way  or- 
dinary red  bricks  are  laid  with  mortar,  but  should  simply  be  dipped 
in  very  liquid  fire  clay  solution,  and  then  laid  in  place.  It  is  ad- 
visable to  use  special  shaped  bricks  for  lining  small  furnaces, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  it  does  not  require  a  skilled  mason  to  place 


Fig.   45.     Furnace   with   front   casting   removed   to 
show   special   shaped   brick   lining. 

these  blocks  in  position.  For  example,  two  blacksmith  helpers 
can  reline  a  furnace,  having  charging  space  18  inches  wide,  22 
inches  deep,  by  16  inches  high,  with  13  large,  accurately  shaped 
blocks  in  forty  minutes.  As  these  shapes  are  interlocking  and 
as  the  number  of  the  joints  is  greatly  reduced,  this  lining  lasts 
about  three  times  as  long  as  a  furnace  lined  with  ordinary  standard 
size  fire-brick.  This  fully  demonstrates  the  theory  that  every  fire- 
brick joint  in  the  furnace  shortens  the  life  of  the  construction. 
As  magnesite  brick  has  no  affinity  for  iron,  it  is  often  used  for 


REFRACTORY  MATERIAL  71 

furnace  bottom  in  welding  furnaces,  etc.  For  air  furnace  bottoms 
a  special  grade  of  sand  is  necessary,  the  analysis  of  which  is  as 
follows : 

Silica 89.94 

Oxide  of  Iron 2.64 

Oxide  of  Aluminum 3.26 

Magnesia     trace 

Lime     trace 

Total  Alkali    2.62 

Loss  on  ignition   1.50 


Chapter  VI 
LOCOMOTIVE  EQUIPMENT 

Hundreds  of  locomotive  firemen  are  today  rejoicing  because  of 
the  discovery  of  liquid  fuel,  for  instead  of  their  runs  being  a  con- 
tinuous arduous  task  of  shoveling  coal  they  are  riding  like  a  prince 
on  their  seat  in  the  cab, .gazing  out  of  the  window  at  the  track 
ahead,  safeguarding  their  own  lives  as  well  as  those  of  the  travel- 
ing public  in  the  train.  One  hand  rests  upon  the  lever  of  an  oil- 
regulating  quadrant  by  means  of  which  they  can  instantly  in- 


Fig.  47.    Locomotive  oil  burner. 


crease  or  decrease  the  flow  of  fuel  passing  into  the  fire-box.  When 
a  locomotive  is  changed  from  coal  to  oil,  its  tonnage  is  increased 
15%,  for  you  can  at  all  times  maintain  the  full  boiler  pressure  of 
steam.  Even  while  going  up  the  highest  grade  or  mountain,  the 
steam  pressure  in  the  boiler  is  not  lowered  and  there  is  absolutely 
no  smoke.  As  there  are  no  smoke  or  sparks  emitted,  the  danger 
of  setting  fire  to  forests,  bridges,  buildings,  etc.,  is  eliminated,  and, 
because  of  this  fact,  oil-burning  locomotives  are  used  in  coal  mines, 
on  divisions  passing  through  timber  lands,  etc.  Before  oil  was 
introduced,  timber  of  inestimable  value  was  destroyed  by  sparks 
in  Louisiana,  the  Adirondack  Mountains,  etc. 

Great  advances  have  been  made  in  the  equipment  of  locomotives, 
but  the  types  are  so  numerous  it  is  difficult  to  specifically  describe 
these  changes.  Formerly  it  was  customary  to  bolt  the  burner  to 

72 


LOCOMOTIVE    EQUIPMENT 


73 


the  mud  ring  below  the  fire-box  door,  directing  the  flame  toward 
the  flue  sheet  under  an  arch  made  of  A-l  fire  brick.  This  arch 
was  a  source  of  great  difficulty,  as  it  often  fell  or  wasted  away, 
thus  deflecting  the  heat  against  the  crown  sheet.  Again,  too,  often 
if  the  flues  began  to  leak,  the  water  dripping  down  upon  the  arch 
penetrated  the  fire-brick,  thus  generating  steam  which  caused  the 


Fig.  48.     A  modern  type  of  locomotive  equipment. 

structure  to  crumble  and  fall.  The  most  modern  practice  is  to 
eliminate  the  arch  entirely,  the  burner  being  placed  at  the  flue 
sheet  end  of  the  fire-box  substantially  as  shown  in  Fig.  48.  This 
insures  a  reverberatory  movement  of  the  flame  and  heat  for  the 
burner  directs  the  flame  against  the  fire-brick  cross  wall  at  the 
rear  of  the  fire-box,  where  it  is  deflected  and  drawn  forward  by 


74  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

the  exhaust  to  the  flue  sheet  end  of  the  fire-box.  The  grates,  of 
course,  are  always  omitted.  By  means  of  the  inverted  arch  with 
dampered  air  opening,  the  quantity  of  air  necessary  for  perfect 
combustion  is  regulated  according  to  requirements.  When  the 
locomotive  is  going  forward  the  rear  damper  is  open,  and  while 
the  locomotive  is  going  backward  the  front  damper  is  open. 

I  show  but  one  type  of  inverted  arch,  but  will  say  that  these 
vary  in  construction.  Some  have  damper-controlling  devices  by 
which  the  fireman  can  accurately  control  the  admission  of  air 
passing  into  the  fire-box,  while  others  admit  the  air  through  open- 
ings in  the  burner  end  of  the  inverted  arch.  A  fireman  who  uses 
judgment  in  the  operation  of  the  damper  type  secures  the  high- 
est economy  in  fuel  by  admitting  just  sufficient  air  while  at  the 
same  time  allowing  no  smoke  to  pass  from  smoke  stack — in 


Fig.  50.    Lo- 

Fig.     49.       Fire-  comotiveoil 

man's    regulat-  regulat- 

ing quadrant.  ing  cock. 


other  words,  he  effects  perfect  combustion.  Careless  firemen  who 
do  not  use  good  judgment  in  controlling  the  damper  make  a  bet- 
ter record  in  fuel  economy  by  the  use  of  the  type  of  inverted  arch 
with  air  openings  at  the  burner  end.  Care  should  always  be  taken 
not  to  admit  a  superfluous  amount  of  air  into  the  fire-box,  as  it 
requires  additional  fuel  to  heat  excess  quantity  air  to  the  tem- 
perature of  the  fire-box. 

The  fireman's  regulating  quadrant  takes  the  place  of  the  coal 
shovel  on  an  oil-burning  engine.  The  early  history  of  liquid  fuel 
equipment  shows  that  many  locomotive  fire-boxes  were  ruined  be- 
cause the  fireman  inadvertently  shut  off  the  fuel  supply  while 
drifting  down  a  long  grade  or  coming  into  a  station.  He  thought 
he  had  a  light  fire,  but  there  being  none,  the  cold  air,  rushing  in, 


LOCOMOTIVE    EQUIPMENT 


75 


damaged  the  fire-box  and  started  the  flues  to  leaking.  This  diffi- 
culty is  now  entirely  obviated  by  the  use  of  a  quadrant  attached 
by  means  of  a  rod  to  an  oil-regulating  cock  (Fig.  50),  having  a 
V-shaped  knife-edge  orifice  in  the  plug  through  which  the  fuel 
enters  and  passes  out  through  a  much  larger  orifice.  With  this 
apparatus  you  can  have  the  pops  operate  going  up  the  steepest 


Fig.  51.     Oil  tank  placed  in  former  coal  space  of  locomotive  tender. 

grade  on  any  mountain  if  so  desired,  or  you  can  hold  the  steam 
at  any  pressure  without  varying  5  pounds  over  the  division  of  any 
railroad.  While  drifting  the  lug  of  the  lever  or  handle  of  the 
quadrant  engages  with  a  set  screw  in  the  hinged  latch,  which  in- 
sures a  constant  light  fire  sufficient  to  maintain  steam  pressure 
and  operate  the  air  pump.  When  speed  or  maximum  power  is 
required  the  lever  is  moved  towards  the  left,  which  increases  the 
flow  of  oil.  When  the  engine  is  placed  in  the  round  house  the 
hinged  latch  is  thrown  back,  and  the  lever  is  moved  to  the  right 
as  far  as  possible  and  the  top  thumb  screw  tightened.  In  this 


76  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

position  the  lever  is  stationary  and  the  fuel  supply  to  burner  en- 
tirely shut  off. 

An  oil  tank,  such  as  can  be  placed  in  the  former  coal  space  of 
the  locomotive  tender  to  supply  fuel  over  a  division,  is  shown  in 
Fig.  51.  This  tank  can  readily  be  filled.  Means  are  provided  for 
heating  the  coil  in  this  tank  substantially  as  shown;  also  splash 
plates  in  order  that  the  oil  may  be  carried  in  this  tank  the  same 
way  as  water  is  carried  in  the  tender  tank.  The  bottom  of  the 
tank  is  ordinarily  only  one  foot  above  the  burner,  but  with  the 
form  of  atomizer  shown  in  Fig.  47,  which  has  a  syphoning  action, 
this  pressure  is  sufficient  so  that  air  is  not  required  to  force  the 
fuel  to  burner. 


Fig.   52.     Oil  superheater. 

When  heavy  oil  is  cold  and  viscous,  the  locomotive  can  not  pull 
her  tonnage,  and  carbon  will  lodge  on  the  fire-brick  lining  of  the 
inverted  arch.  Although  heated  by  steam  coils  in  the  storage  tank 
of  tender  it  is  often  wise  to  have  heavy  viscous  fuel  pass  through  a 
superheater  just  before  it  reaches  the  regulating  cock  so  that  it 
will  get  to  the  burner  heated  to  just  below  the  vaporizing  point. 
The  superheater  shown  in  Fig.  52  is  both  simple  and  durable,  and  is 
operated  by  a  globe  valve  conveniently  placed  for  the  fireman, 
which  allows  the  steam  to  surround  the  oil  pipe,  all  condensation 
passing  out  of  the  drain  cock  at  the  bottom  of  the  superheater. 
Such  a  device  is  really  a  necessity  when  the  oil  tank  has  been  filled 
at  the  end  of  a  division,  for  it  takes  some  time  for  the  cold,  heavy 
oil  to  become  sufficiently  heated  by  the  steam  pipe  in  the  tank. 


LOCOMOTIVE  EQUIPMENT 


77 


78 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


60 


LOCOMOTIVE    EQUIPMENT 


79 


Fig.  55.     Diagram  showing  fireman's  operating  valves,  etc. 


80  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

As  soon  as  a  locomotive  is  changed  from  coal  to  oil  fuel  (which 
can  be  done  at  a  very  small  cost) ,  the  train-tonnage  of  the  engine 
is  increased  15  per  cent.,  because  the  locomotive  can  easily  carry 
the  steam  pressure  at  all  times  at  just  below  its  "popping-off" 
point.  This,  of  course,  cannot  be  done  while  using  coal  as  fuel. 

For  locomotive  service  the  most  modern  practice  is  "the  duplex 
oil  system,"  which  employs  two  burners,  a  small  and  a  large  one. 
fhe  former,  used  as  the  engine  leaves  the  round  house,  and  oper- 
ated continuously  thereafter,  serves  as  a  pilot  light,  as  well  as  to 
keep  just  sufficient  heat  in  the  fire-box  to  maintain  the  temperature 
and  the  steam  required  when  the  locomotive  is  standing  still.  It 
keeps  the  steam  at  just  below  the  "popping-off"  point  when  only 
the  air  pump  is  running,  and  no  other  work  is  being  done.  The 
large  burner,  ordinarily  placed  above  the  smaller  one,  is  operated 
when  the  locomotive  is  at  work.  By  this  system  the  life  of  the 


OILORTAW 

Fig.  56.    Pilot  burner. 

boiler  is  increased,  and  the  handling  of  the  locomotive  becomes 
much  simpler.  The  larger  burner  is  only  operated  when  the 
locomotive  is  in  actual  service,  which  of  course  means  a  great 
saving  in  fuel.  A  small  burner  outfit  will  pay  for  itself  in  the 
saving  of  fuel  effected  by  its  use,  many  times  during  the  course  of  a 
year. 

Gravity  oil  feed  is  ordinarily  used  in  locomotive  service. 
Air  pressure  should  not  be  used  on  the  locomotive  oil  tank  to 
aid  in  forcing  the  fuel  to  the  burner ;  but  in  stationary  or  marine 
practice  10  pounds  pressure  should  be  maintained  on  the  oil-supply 
pipe. 


LOCOMOTIVE   EQUIPMENT 


81 


Fig.  57.     Locomotive  equipment  using  pilot  burner. 


82 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


LOCOMOTIVE  EQUIPMENT 


83 


Fig.  59. 

Small  locomotive 
equipped  with 
two  burners. 


Chapter  VII 
STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 

The  Steam  Engineering  Department  of  the  United  States  Navy 
in  1904  conducted  a  series  of  tests  upon  a  water-tube  boiler  using 
oil  as  fuel.  The  Bureau  at  that  time  was  under  the  charge  of  the 


Fig.  61.     High  pressure  oil   burner  mounted   for   marine  or   stationary 
boilers,  burning  oil  or  tar  exclusively  as  fuel. 

late  Rear-Admiral  George  W.  Melville,  and  the  tests  were  con- 
ducted by  a  competent  board  of  efficient  naval  engineers,  viz.: 
John  R.  Edwards,  Commander  (now  Rear-Admiral),  U.  S.  Navy; 
W.  M.  Parks,  Lieutenant-Commander,  U.  S.  Navy;  F.  H.  Bailey, 
Lieutenant-Commander,  U.  S.  Navy ;  and  Mr.  Harvey  D.  Williams 
and  Mr.  Frank  Van  Vleck,  two  oil  experts  who  served  the  Board  as 
secretaries.  These  gentlemen  faithfully  discharged  their  duties 
and  gave  to  the  United  States  and,  in  fact  to  the  whole  world,  a 
most  accurate  and  exhaustive  report  on  the  burning  of  oil  in  boilers 

84 


STATIONARY   AND    MARINE   BOILERS  85 

which  still  remains  the  highest  authority  on  boiler  equipment  and 
has  done  much  toward  the  introduction  of  oil  in  the  manufacturing 
world  as  well  as  in  the  navies  and  merchant  marine.  We  owe  this 
Board  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  their  untiring  efforts  in  our  behalf. 

In  some  sections  of  the  country  where  oil  is  cheap  it  is  exten- 
sively used  in  stationary  and  marine  boilers.  For  this  purpose  it 
is  most  excellent,  for  it  insures  perfect  combustion  and  a  constant, 
even  fire,  whereas  in  the  burning  of  coal  it  is  impossible  to  keep 
up  an  even  heat  because  of  its  being  necessary  to  so  frequently 
replenish  the  fuel  supply.  There  is  no  expense  for  the  handling  of 
fuel  and  ashes.  One  man  can  fire  and  water-tend  a  battery  of 
twelve  oil-fired  boilers  using  the  oil  burner  shown  in  Fig.  61.  This 
burner  is  mounted  with  piping  of  sufficient  length  to  go  through 
the  front  setting  of  the  boiler.  By  means  of  the  by-pass  valve  any 
foreign  substances  that  might  enter  the  oil  pipes  can  be  blown  out. 
The  atomizer  lip  is  movable  so  that  should  any  foreign  substances, 
such  as  scale,  sand  or  red  lead  collect  in  the  atomizer  pipes  or  slot, 
it  can  readily  be  removed.  This  is  done  by  slackening  the  locknut 
on  the  end  of  the  connecting  rod,  which  allows  the  steam  used  for 
atomizing  to  push  the  lip  forward  and  blow  out  the  foreign  sub- 
stance without  removing  the  burner  from  the  boiler.  With  this 
type  of  burner,  steam  should  be  used  for  atomizing  purposes  in  high 
pressure  boilers,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  steam  in  passing  over 
the  oil  orifice  acts  as  a  syphon.  Furthermore,  as  the  steam  passes 
out  of  its  small  orifice  and  over  the  oil  orifice,  it  expands,  which 
has  a  compressing  effect  upon  the  fuel.  When  the  steam  pressure 
in  the  boiler  lowers,  this  compression  is  reduced  and  this  allows 
more  oil  to  pass  out  of  the  oil  orifice  to  meet  the  load.  In  other 
words,  while  this  burner  is  not  considered  automatic,  it  functions 
automatically.  The  steam  and  oil  orifices  are  independent  of  one 
another  and  on  account  of  the  atomizer  orifice  being  above  the  fuel 
orifice,  there  is  no  liability  of  the  burner  carbonizing. 

In  traction  power  houses  where,  for  about  three  hours  in  the 
morning  and  three  hours  in  the  evening,  it  is  necessary  to  develop 
twice  as  much  power  as  during  the  rest  of  the  day,  the  engineers 
with  oil  have  no  difficulty  in  developing  double  the  normal  rated 
horse-power  of  each  boiler  without  injury  to  the  elements,  thus 
entirely  obviating  the  necessity  of  keeping  extra  boilers  with 
banked  fires.  In  some  plants  where  coal  is  ordinarily  used  as  fuel 
the  boilers  carry  the  peak  loads  by  using  a  combination  of  oil  and 


86 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


coal,  the  burners  being  placed  inside  of  fire-box  as  shown  in  Fig. 
62. 

Another  service  of  great  importance  and  of  growing  demand 
is  in  large  electric  light  plants  which  formerly  had  a  long  battery 
of  boilers  carrying  banked  coal  fires,  for  during  a  storm  or  threat- 


Fig.  62.     Boiler  equipped  for  the  use  of  oil  or  tar  to  aid  coal  or  breeze  fire  in 

carrying  peak  loads. 


ening  weather  many  lights  are  turned  on  simultaneously  through- 
out a  city,  thus  necessitating  the  immediate  replenishing  of  elec- 
trical energy.  A  number  of  plants  have  been  changed  to  oil  by 
placing  the  burner  in  the  front  end  setting  of  boiler,  the  grates 
being  covered  with  a  checker-work  of  fire-brick,  the  opening  in 
the  checker-work  being  of  such  proportions  as  to  admit  sufficient 
oxygen  for  the  consuming  fuel.  A  gas  pilot  light  is  constantly 
kept  burning  and  when  the  boilers  are  suddenly  called  into  serv- 
ice the  oil  burner  is  started  in  five  seconds  by  simply  operating  the 
two  operating  valves,  and  in  ten  minutes  150  pounds  of  steam  is  on 


STATIONARY   AND    MARINE   BOILERS 


87 


the  boiler.  Of  course,  when  not  under  fire,  hot  water  is  constantly 
passing  through  these  boilers,  this  being  the  same  practice  as  is 
used  in  fire-engine  houses. 

Oil  is  used  in  some  power  plants  where  they  have  stokers  and 
where  a  boiler  is  called  into  service  quickly.  In  this  case  the  oil 
burner  is  mounted  with  swivel  points  (see  Fig.  63),  and  when 
called  into  use  it  is  simply  swung  from  its  position  at  the  side  of 
the  boiler  and  plays  its  fire  over  the  bed  of  coal  until  the  green  coal 
fire  has  been  properly  ignited,  after  which  it  is  swung  out  of  po- 


Fig.  63.     Oil  or  tar  burner  mounted  with  swivel  joints. 


sition  and  the  burner  opening  in  the  side  of  fire-box  is  closed  by 
fire-brick  of  the  exact  size  and  form  required  to  fill  the  burner 
opening. 

With  the  average  fluctuating  load  in  stationary  boilers  it  re- 
quires approximately  147  gallons  of  oil  having  calorific  value  of 
19,000  B.t.u.  per  Ib.  and  weighing  7.5  Ibs.  per  gallon  to  equal  one 
long  ton  of  bituminous  coal  (2240  Ibs.)  having  calorific  value  of 
14,200  B.t.u.  per  Ib. 


88  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

The  analysis  of  one  of  the  best  coals  is  as  follows: 

Carbon   82.26% 

Hydrogen 3.89% 

Oxygen 4.12% 

Nitrogen    64% 

Sulpkur    ,       .49% 

Ash 8.60% 

Total 100      % 

Calorific  value  per  Ib.  15,391  B.t.u. 

However,  the  average  of  good  coals  has  a  calorific  value  of  14,200 
B.t.u.  per  pound. 

There  are  many  types  of  stationary  boilers  all  of  which  play  their 
particular  part  in  the  manufacturing  world.  Along  the  line  of 
railroads  old  locomotive  boilers  discarded  from  railway  service  are 
often  used  in  water  pumping  stations.  Oil  is  an  excellent  fuel  for 
this  work,  for  the  fireman  can  adjust  the  burner  and  have  plenty 
of  time  to  care  for  the  pumping  plant,  as  he  does  not  have  to  regu- 
late the  burner  for  three  or  four  hours  at  a  time,  but  of  course  he 
must  give  attention  to  the  water  supply  for  the  boiler.  In  Fig.  64 
is  shown  the  manner  of  equipping  such  a  boiler.  If,  however,  oil  is 
simply  to  be  used  in  emergencies,  the  grates  need  not  be  removed 
for  they  can  be  covered  with  a  checker  work  of  fire  brick  as  indicated 
in  Fig.  65.  A  2!/4"  tube  through  which  to  place  the  burner  is  placed 
in  between  the  throat  sheet  and  the  flue  sheet.  This  tube  is  beaded 
over  in  the  same  manner  as  when  a  flue  is  beaded  against  the  flue 
sheet  of  the  boiler.  There  are  some  equipments  in  which  it  is  im- 
possible to  pass  the  burner  through  the  throat  sheet  and  in  such 
cases  the  burner  is  installed  as  shown  in  Fig.  66.  A  deflection  wall 
is  placed  across  the  fire-box  in  the  manner  shown  and  the  burner 
is  inserted  through  a  21/4"  tube,  beaded  on  each  end.  It  is  important 
that  no  air  be  admitted  between  the  flue  sheet  and  the  cross  wall. 

In  the  equipment  of  the  water-leg  boiler  (Fig.  67)  the  burner  is 
inserted  in  a  tube  which  is  beaded  over  on  each  end.  The  flame 
from  the  burner  is  directed  towards  the  firing  door.  Sufficient 
space  should  be  left  in  the  door  opening  for  firing  up  with  wood 
when  the  boiler  is  cold  and  there  is  no  steam  with  which  to  begin 
operating  the  oil  burner. 


STATIONARY   AND    MARINE    BOILERS 


89 


If  the  refractory  material  is  placed  in  an  Economic  boiler  as 
shown  in  Fig.  68,  the  18"  arch  prevents  any  short-circuiting  of  the 
flame  and  heat  when  the  fire  from  the  oil  burner  is  reduced.  The 
refractory  construction  shown  makes  it  very  easy  to  fire  up  this 
boiler  with  wood  without  removing  the  burner  or  piping.  In  plants 
where  there  is  only  one  boiler,  if  the  dampers  are  carefully  closed 
when  the  burner  is  shut  off  at  night,  there  will  ordinarily  be  forty 


Fig.  64.     Locomotive  boiler  equipped  for  stationary  service. 


or  fifty  pounds  of  steam  on  the  boiler  in  the  morning  with  which 
to  begin  operating  the  burner,  as  the  heat  radiating  from  the  refrac- 
tory material  will  maintain  that  pressure  during  the  night.  After 
the  boiler  has  been  washed  out  or  closed  down  over  Sunday  it  is 
necessary  to  fire  the  boiler  with  wood  until  ten  or  fifteen  pounds 
of  steam  is  raised,  but  with  this  type  of  equipment  this  can  be  done 
with  the  full  assurance  that  no  injury  will  be  done  to  the  burner. 


90 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


a 

-M    O 


STATIONARY   AND   MARINE   BOILERS 


91 


Fig.  66.     Equipment  of  locomotive  type   stationary  boiler  when  the 
burner  cannot  be  inserted  through  throat  sheet. 


SECTION  AT  A-A 


Fig.  67.     Water-leg  boiler   equipment. 


92 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


STATIONARY   AND   MARINE   BOILERS 


93 


94 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


In  a  Stirling  boiler  (Fig.  77)  the  grates  should  be  lowered  and 
the  burner  placed  between  the  two  ash-pit  doors.  Unless  the 
width  of  the  fire-box  exceeds  7%  feet  only  one  burner  giving  a 
fan-shaped  flame  is  required.  Never  remove  the  arch  or  arches 
over  the  grates,  for  these  are  necessary  to  deflect  the  heat  to  and 
through  the  elements  of  the  boiler. 

There  are  two  methods  of  equipping  a  Heine  boiler.  One  is 
known  as  the  Deep  Setting  and  the  other  the  Grate  Setting.  The 
latter  is  simply  placing  a  burner  through  the  firing  door  as  shown 


Fig.  70.     Scotch  marine  boiler  equipment. 

in  Fig.  78,  and  covering  the  grates  with  a  checker-work  of  fire- 
brick, leaving  a  space  of  %  inch  between  the  bricks,  so  that  the  air 
required  for  combustion  can  readily  pass  up  there  through.  Care 
must  be  taken  to  have  the  proper  distance  between  the  flame  and 
the  refractory  material  covering  the  grates.  I  have  experimented 
a  great  deal  in  order  to  ascertain  this  distance,  and  have  found  that 
with  a  burner  giving  a  fan-shaped  flame  there  should  be  8  inches 
between  the  nose  of  the  burner  or  the  Line  of  Blaze  from  the 
burner  and  the  top  of  the  fire-brick  checker-work.  In  the  "Deep 


STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 


95 


96 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


Setting"  (Fig.  79)  the  grates  are  removed  and  rows  of  support 
brick  laid  in  the  ash-pit.  On  these  the  checker-work  is  placed, 
leaving  %  inch  space  between  bricks  if  the  stack  is  high  or  a 
greater  distance  if  there  is  only  a  short  stack.  The  "Deep  Setting" 


Fig.    72.     Equipment  of  boiler  with  twin  fire-boxes — grates  not  re- 
moved, oil  being  only  used  as  an  emergency  fuel. 

is  always  preferable  because  by  removing  the  grates  you  increase 
the  size  of  the  fire-box,  thus  correspondingly  increasing  the 
efficiency  of  the  boiler.  With  the  "Deep  Setting"  you  get  practi- 
cally 11/2  pounds  greater  evaporation  per  pound  of  fuel  than  with 


STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 


97 


98 


BURNING*  LIQUID  FUEL 


be 


STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 


99 


100 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 


101 


the  "Grate  Setting,"  and  there  is  no  liability  of  the  elements  being 
injured,  even  when  forcing  boiler  far  beyond  its  normal  rated 
horse  power.  With  either  the  Grate  or  Deep  Setting  the  bridge  wall 
is  cut  down  level  with  the  top  of  the  checker-work  so  that  the  heat 
may  be  even  throughout  the  entire  length  of  the  fire-box. 


Fig.  77.     Stirling  boiler  equipment. 


In  our  early  attempts  to  equip  a  Babcock  &  Wilcox  boiler  we 
covered  the  grates  with  a  checker-work  of  fire-brick,  placing  the 
burner  in  the  front  end  setting  and  directing  the  heat  rearwardly. 
Our  chief  difficulties  were  the  inadequate  size  of  the  chamber  in 
which  combustion  took  place,  a  concentration  of  the  heat  at  the 


3=  „»*«•»*« 


102 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


I 
1 


STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 


103 


104 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


rearward  end  of  the  first  pass  and  an  insufficient  amount  of  heat 
at  the  header-end  of  the  boiler.  Finally  we  removed  the  grates, 
placing  the  fire-brick  checker-work  on  rows  of  support  brick 
laid  in  ash-pit,  and  constructed  a  deflection  arch  or  ledge  to  de- 
flect the  heat  forward,  as  shown  in  Fig.  80.  Further'  experiment- 


Fig.  80.     Babcock  &  Wilcox  boiler  equipment. 


ing  revealed  the  fact  that  the  very  best  results  are  obtained  by 
having  a  distance  of  3  feet  between  the  base  line  of  the  setting  and 
the  floor  line,  and  constructing  the  deflection  cross  wall  as  shown 
in  Fig.  81.  It  may  seem  costly  to  make  the  setting  so  low  but  this 


STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 


105 


106 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


00 


STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 


107 


Fig.  83.    Return  tubular  boiler  equipment — grate  setting. 


108 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


cost  is  soon  offset  by  the  economy  in  fuel  and  efficiency  effected 
because  of  your  getting  the  benefit  of  an  even  distribution  of  heat 
throughout  the  first  pass  of  the  boiler. 

A  return  tubular  boiler  may  be  equipped  by  simply  placing 
checker-work  on  the  grates  and  cutting  the  bridge  wall  down  level 
therewith,  as  shown  in  Fig.  83,  but  personally  I  recommend  the 
"Deep  Setting/'  similar  to  that  described  under  Heine  boiler,  see 
Fig.  79. 

Admirable  results  are  obtained  from  Vertical  Boilers  by  placing 
the  burner  so  that  the  flame  enters  the  fire-box  tangentially,  for 


Fig.  84.     Tangential  flame  equipment  as  applied  to  a  vertical  boiler. 

this  causes  a  reverberatory  movement  of  the  flame  and  heat  and 
prevents  impingement  upon  any  of  the  elements  of  the  boiler.  To 
start  the  boiler  shown  in  Fig.  84,  when  cold  in  a  pumping  station 
or  when  used  as  an  auxiliary  boiler,  we  simply  break  up  a  few 
boxes  and  pass  them  in  through  the  fire-door  and  in  a  few  moments 
ten  or  twelve  pounds  of  steam  is  raised  on  this  small  boiler,  which 
is  sufficient  to  operate  the  oil  burner  on  this  boiler,  and  this  boiler 
in  turn  furnishes  steam  to  operate  the  burners  of  a  large  battery 
of  boilers. 


STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 


109 


Fig.  85.     Vertical  boiler  in  which  both  gas  and  oil  can  be  used  as  fuel. 


110 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


Sometimes  it  is  quite  essential  to  have  a  small  boiler  in  which 
either  natural  or  commercial  gas  can  be  used  in  combination  with 
oil  or  in  which  either  fuel  may  be  used  without  the  other.  For  this 
purpose  a  small  vertical  boiler  is  becoming  quite  popular.  This 
outfit  (Fig.  85)  is  often  used  chiefly  to  supply  steam  in  a  small 


8  i/x* 


Fig.  86.     Vertical  boiler  with  gravity  oil  feed. 


power  plant  with  which  to  begin  the  operation  of  the  oil  burners  in 
the  larger  boilers  after  they  have  been  washed  out  or  are  cold  from 
being  shut  down  over  a  week-end  or  holiday.  It  only  takes  a  few 
minutes  to  raise  the  necessary  steam  in  this  type  of  boiler. 

Many  vertical  boilers  can  be  equipped  with  a  burner  giving  a  fan- 
shaped  flame  but  it  is  very  much  better  to  have  the  burner  give  a 


STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 


111 


narrow  flame.  With  the  tangential  flame  equipment  shown  in  Figs. 
86,  87  and  88,  you  get  an  absolutely  even  distribution  of  heat  in  the 
fire-box,  this  heat  encircling  the  fire-box  and  passing  upwardly 
through  the  elements  of  the  boiler  without  impinging  at  any  point. 
The  grates  should  be  removed  and  the  ashpit  lined  sufficiently  high  to 
protect  the  mud  ring.  When  the  boiler  is  cold,  five  pounds  steam 


Fig.    87.     Vertical    boiler — longitudinal    mid-section. 


pressure  with  which  to  begin  operating  the  oil  burner,  can  readily 
be  raised  with  a  wood  fire.  The  kindlings  or  wood  can  be  put  in 
through  the  firing  door.  The  ashes  from  the  burnt  wood  will  very 
quickly  pass  away  after  the  oil  burner  is  started.  In  some  equip- 
ments it  is  well  to  place  a  pilot  burner  to  be  used  the  same  as  in 


112 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


Fig.  88.     Vertical  boiler  equipment. 


STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS  113 


Fig.  89.     Manning  vertical  boiler. 


114 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


locomotive  service  to  maintain  the  required  steam  pressure  while 
the  boiler  is  idle.  Fig.  87  shows  a  portion  of  a  portable  outfit  where 
a  pilot  burner  is  used  on  the  boiler ;  also  gravity  oil  feed. 

In  equipping  a  Fitzgibbons  type  of  boiler,  it  is  very  important 
to  place  the  burner  so  that  the  flame  will  not  impinge  against  the 
crown  sheet  of  the  boiler.  The  equipment  is  very  simple  if  the 
burner  is  placed  on  the  side  opposite  the  firing  door  as  indicated  in 
Fig.  90. 


Fig.  90.     Fitzgibbons  boiler  equipment. 


The  liquid  fuel  injectin  apparatus  (see  Fig.  91)  can  be  used 
either  in  combination  with  poor  coal  or  with  oil  alone.  If  it  is 
desired  to  use  oil  alone,  the  grates  are  covered  with  ashes  and  the 
burner  is  operated  by  opening  the  air  damper  and  starting  the 
burner,  same  as  in  furnace  practice.  When  the  strike  or  coal  short- 
age is  over  the  ashes  can  readily  be  removed  from  the  grates,  the 
burner  shut  off,  the  air  damper  closed  by  the  lever  shown  in  the 


STATIONARY  AND   MARINE  BOILERS  115 


Fig.  91.     Liquid  fuel  injecting  apparatus. 


116 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


Fig.  92.     Liquid  fuel  injecting  apparatus  in  position  for  operation. 


STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 


117 


Fig.  92,  and  coal  again  burned.  It  should  be  remembered  that 
in  good  boiler  practice  it  requires  147  gallons  of  oil  to  represent 
a  long  ton  of  coal.  Therefore  unless  the  boiler  is  located  in  an  oil- 
producing  section,  where  oil  can  be  purchased  much  cheaper  than 
coal,  it  is  not  advisable  to  use  oil  in  boilers  except  during  a  period 


Fig.  93.     Liquid  fuel  injecting  apparatus  installed  on  open  hearth  furnace 

waste  heat  boiler. 


of  coal  shortage.  You  will  note  that  this  apparatus  is  placed  in 
the  side-wall  of  the  boiler,  midway  between  the  front  end  setting 
and  the  bridge  wall,  and  it  does  not  in  any  way  conflict  with  the 
operation  of  the  stokers,  or  hand  firing  of  the  boiler.  The  waste 
heat  coming  from  an  open-hearth  furnace  is  not  always  sufficient 


118 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 


119 


120 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


I 

I 

•s 

I 


bb 


STATIONARY  AND   MARINE  BOILERS  121 

to  keep  up  the  required  steam  pressure  on  a  waste  heat  boiler  at  all 
times.  All  difficulty  arising  from  this  condition  is  obviated  from 
installing  the  liquid  fuel  injecting  apparatus  as  shown  in  Fig.  92. 

The  burner  is  capable  of  atomizing  any  gravity  of  liquid  fuel 
purchasable  in  open  market,  and  is  made  of  material  that  has  no 
affinity  whatsoever  for  the  oil  or  tar. 

I  am  often  amused  at  the  specifications  sent  forth.  Often  they 
read  as  follows: 

"The  burner  to  be  of  cast-iron,  honestly  made,  and  provided 
with  all  necessary  fittings  of  the  same  material." 

One  firm  spent  twelve  years  trying  to  find  a  material  that  has  no 
affinity  for  oil  and  they  have  secured  it.  Years  ago,  they  tried  cast- 
iron,  and  then  steel,  but  those  metals  were  not  satisfactory  be- 
cause they  wanted  to  obviate  the  clogging  of  the  oil  orifice  by  the 
residuum  of  the  oil.  It  must  be  amusing  to  this  firm  to  get  speci- 
fications for  burners  indicating  the  very  metal  which  they  years  ago 
discarded ! 

I  recommend  that  any  firm  desiring  to  conduct  a  test  purchase 
from  the  Secretary  of  The  American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engi- 
neers (29  West  39th  Street,  New  York  City)  blanks  showing 
standards  adopted  by  that  Society  for  use  in  boiler  evaporation 
tests.  Either  the  gravity  feed  or  oil  pumping  system  shown  in 
Figs.  97  and  98  may  be  used  to  supply  the  fuel.  Scales  should  be 
used  for  weighing  the  fuel  in  the  upper  tank.  If  the  gravity  feed 
test  system  is  used,  the  bottom  of  the  lower  tank  should  be  at  least 
two  feet  above  the  level  of  the  burner. 

Steam  flow  meters  provide  a  means  for  accurately  measuring  the 
total  flow  of  steam  through  pipes  or  closed  conduits,  and  so  furnish- 
ing information  of  great  value  in  the  economical  management  of 
any  manufacturing  industry  or  central  station.  (See  Fig.  100.) 

The  most  universal  differential  draft  gage  devised,  for  air 
supply  control,  is  this  new  type  of  combination  (the  simplest  and 
most  valuable  instrument  introduced)  gage.  Based  on  true  effici- 
ency, first  cost,  attention  and  maintenance,  it  surpasses  all  other 
combustion  instruments.  It  is  the  biggest  value  ever  offered  for 
the  boiler  room. 

By  a  simple  and  ingenious  system  of  cross-piping  the  cover  type 
differential  gage,  a  type  has  been  developed  whereby  the  furnace 
draft,'  the  flue  draft  or  the  differential  between  the  flue  and  furnace 
can  be  indicated  on  a  single  gage  over  the  full  length  of  the  scale. 


122 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 


123 


124  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

As  the  differential  gives  a  greater  liquid  movement  for  a  given 
variation  in  air  supply  than  the  furnace  draft,  the  gage  is 
operated  continuously  on  the  differential.  The  ordinary  draft  gage 
when  connected  either  to  the  furnace  or  to  the  flue  indicates  only 


Fig.  100.     Indicating,  recording,  integrating  flow  meter.    (Cut 
used  through  courtesy  of  the  General  Electric  Co.) 

a  difference  in  pressure  between  the  furnace  or  the  flue  and  the 
outside  of  the  setting,  and  does  not  serve  as  a  reliable  guide  to  the 
actual  amount  of  air  passing  through  the  furnace. 

The  air  to  an  oil-burning  furnace  can  be  regulated  in  two  ways : 


STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 


125 


by  the  ash  pit  doors  and  by  the  damper.  With  the  ash  pit  doors 
wide  open  and  the  air  regulated  by  the  damper  the  ordinary  type 
draft  gage  serves  very  well  as  an  indicator  of  the  amount  of  air 


Fig.   101.     CO2   recorder.     (Shown   through   courtesy  of  the 
Jos.  W.  Hays  Corporation.) 

passing  through  the  setting,  but  should  these  conditions  be  re- 
versed, that  is,  the  damper  space  wide  open  and  the  ash  pit  doors 
partly  closed,  the  indications  of  the  ordinary  type  draft  gage  are 


126  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

of  no  value  whatever  inasmuch  as  closing  the  ash  pit  doors  tends 
to  cut  down  the  air  and  at  the  same  time  indicates  a  higher  draft 
pressure. 

With  the  differential  draft  gage  an  increase  in  air  supply  from 
any  source  moves  the  liquid  in  but  one  direction,  forward,  and  a 
decrease  in  air  supply  has  the  opposite  effect.  Therefore  the  indi- 
cations of  this  gage  are  a  sure  guide  to  the  amount  of  air  passing 
through  the  setting  regardless  of  the  position  of  the  damper  or  ash 
pit  doors. 

To  indicate  the  varying  air  supply  the  outside  cocks  are  open  and 
the  middle  cock  is  closed,  as  shown,  the  liquid  operating  between 
the  air  supply  pointers  as  indicated. 

The  flue  draft  is  indicated  by  opening  the  outside  cock  and  clos- 
ing the  other  two. 


Fig.  102.     Ellison  draft  gage.     (Shown  through  courtesy  of 
Lewis  M.  Ellison,  Chicago,  111.) 

It  is  advisable  to  use  a  steam-flow  meter  of  modern  type  and 
well  known  make;  also  C02  recorders  and  draft  gages,  and  all 
other  instruments  which  will  aid  in  economically  and  accurately 
burning  the  fuel. 

Standard  adopted  by  the  A.  S.  M.  E.  1  boiler  H.  P.  is  equal  to  an 
evaporation  per  hour  of  30  Ibs.  of  water  from  100° F.  to  70  Ibs. 
pressure,  or  is  equal  to  34.5  Ibs.  of  water  per  hour  from  and  at 
212°F.  This  is  not  a  measure  of  power  but  of  evaporation. 

Blast  furnace  gas  is  now  being  used  very  successfully  in  both 
large  furnaces  and  boilers.  This  gas  having  a  calorific  value  of 
only  90  B.t.u.  per  cubic  foot  must  be  supplied  in  large  quantities, 
and  necessarily  a  large  gas  burner  is  used  to  deliver  the  gas  to 
the  boiler  or  furnace.  On  account  of  its  low  calorific  value  it  is 
also  necessary  to  use  either  oil  or  tar  as  an  auxiliary  fuel  to  aid 


STATIONARY  AND  MARINE  BOILERS 

<Q 


127 


128  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

in  maintaining  the  rated  horse-power  of  the  boiler  and  to  meet 
the  fluctuating  loads  which  the  power  plant  of  a  works  carries. 

Fig.  103  shows  a  longitudinal  mid-section  of  a  boiler  using 
blast  furnace  gas,  and  also  the  manner  of  installing  an  oil  or  tar 
burner  above  the  gas  burner  by  which  excellent  results  are  ob- 
tained. 


Chapter  VIII 

LOW-PRESSURE    BOILERS    AND    HOT    AIR 
FURNACES 

There  are  many  different  types  of  hot  water  boilers,  hot  air 
heaters  and  steam  boilers  carrying  only  from  2  to  10  pounds  steam 
pressure,  which  are  used  for  heating  purposes.  Some  have  cast  iron 
elements  while  others  have  steel  shells.  That  shown  in  Fig.  105  is 
a  hot  water  boiler  with  a  steel  shell.  You  will  note  that  there  is 
an  electric  motor  which  drives  a  positive  pressure  blower,  supplying 
air  for  atomization  of  the  fuel.  Also  this  motor  operates  a  small  oil 
pump. 

Before  attempting  to  make  such  an  installation,  it  is  advisable  to 
take  the  matter  up  with  the  city  authorities  and  the  Underwriters 
in  order  to  make  sure  that  you  can  comply  with  their  requirements. 
Ordinarily  the  oil  tank  should  be  five  feet  from  any  building  and 
buried  three  feet  underground.  If  no  insurance  is  carried  on  the 
building  or  where  such  an  equipment  does  not  conflict  with  city 
ordinances,  a  gravity  feed  system  may  be  used  (see  Fig.  109). 

A  low  pressure  burner  such  as  is  shown  in  Fig.  12,  Page  36,  is 
used  in  the  installations  shown  in  Fig.  Nos.  105,  106  and  107  while 
the  burner  shown  in  Fig.  108  is  of  the  high  pressure  type  (see  Fig. 
10,  Page  33)  because  high  pressure  air  was  available  in  this  in- 
stance. Had  high  pressure  air  not  been  available,  the  same  burner 
as  used  in  Fig.  105  would  have  been  required. 

The  burner  shown  in  Fig.  109  is  of  the  cascade  type,  generally 
known  as  an  air  carbureting  burner.  The  oil  flows  down  over  the 
elements  and  is  consumed  as  it  flows.  No  atomizing  agent  is  re- 
quired but  only  very  light  oil  which  vaporizes  readily  can  be  used 
with  this  burner,  such  as  kerosene,  36  gravity  Beaume  crude  oil  or 
No.  1,2  or  3  distillates. 


129 


130 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


LOW  PRESSURE  BOILERS  AND  HOT  AIR  FURNACES  131 


§ 


W) 


132 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


bo 


LOW  PRESSURE  BOILERS  AND  HOT  AIR  FURNACES  133 

I 


134 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


Chapter   IX 
COMMERCIAL  GAS  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 

Water  gas  tar  is  the  by-product  from  the  water  gas  works,  and 
is  of  very  high  calorific  value  having  16,970  B.t.u.  per  pound  which 
is  equivalent  to  161,200  B.t.u.  per  gallon,  as  it  weighs  9^  pounds 
per  gallon.  It  has  a  higher  calorific  value  per  gallon  than  any  other 
liquid  fuel  except  coal  tar.  It  is  ordinarily  used  in  boilers,  either 
in  combination  with  breeze  or  poor  coal,  using  a  swivel  type  of 
burner  (Fig.  63,  page  89),  or  with  the  liquid  fuel  injecting  appa- 
ratus (Fig.  91,  page  117)  or  it  is  used  with  the  same  type  of  boiler 
equipment  as  crude  oil.  If  the  liquid  fuel  injecting  apparatus  is 
placed  mid-way  between  the  front  end  of  the  boiler  setting  and  the 
bridge  wall  as  indicated  in  Fig.  Ill,  either  coal  or  oil  water  gas 
tar  may  be  used  exclusively  as  fuel  or  they  can  both  be  used  in  com- 
bination. 

There  is  always  more  or  less  difficulty  in  separating  the  water 
from  the  water  gas  tar.  This  is  done  in  two  ways.  One  way  is  by 
the  use  of  a  separator  made  of  steel,  and  in  very  large  gas  works 
this  is  about  17  feet  wide  x  34  feet  long  x  5  feet  high.  Baffle  plates 
are  placed  in  this  separator  4  feet  apart,  so  that  the  incoming  tar 
and  water  must  flow  over  the  first  baffle,  then  under  the  second 
baffle,  then  over  the  third  baffle,  under  the  fourth  baffle,  etc. 
These  baffles  may  be  used  and  yet  success  will  not  be  obtained 
unless  the  water  and  tar  are  heated  to  approximately  a  temperature 
of  170  degrees  F  by  a  coil  placed  in  the  bottom  of  the  separator. 
If  the  water  and  tar  are  heated  to  190  degrees  F,  do  not  use  a  sep- 
arator at  all;  or  if  it  is  only  heated  to  150  degrees  F  better  not 
employ  any  means  to  separate  the  water  from  the  tar.  You  will 
find  having  the  accurate  temperature  and  agitation  to  be  very  im- 
portant factors  in  the  separation  of  water  and  water  gas  tar.  We 
have  mentioned  170  degrees  F  as  this  is  the  temperature  required 
when  using  crude  oil  of  30  gravity  through  the  carburetors.  Of 
course  it  is  obvious  that  when  oil  above  30  degrees  gravity  Baume 
is  used  through  the  carburetors  of  the  gas  works  the  tar  should  be 

135 


136 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


•^ *  ° 

Fig.  111.     Liquid  fuel  injecting  apparatus  applied  to  a  horizontal  return 

tubular  boiler. 


COMMERCIAL  GAS  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


137 


Fig.     112. 

Separator 

(shown 

through 

courtesy     of 

Sharpies 

Specialty  Co.), 


138  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

heated  to  a  point  proportionately  lower  than  170  degrees  F,  and 
when  the  oil  used  through  the  carburetors  is  of  a  lower  gravity 
than  30  degrees  gravity  Baume  the  tar  should  be  heated  to  a  point 
higher  than  170  degrees  F.  It  can  readily  be  understood  that  agi- 
tation and  the  proper  temperature  are  required  to  separate  the 
water  from  the  tar,  but  this  temperature  will  vary  in  accordance 
with  the  gravity  of  the  oil  used  through  the  carburetors. 

Another  method  that  may  be  employed  is  by  the  use  of  the  sep- 
arator shown  in  Fig.  112  and  described  below: 

The  purpose  of  the  Sharpies  Process  for  the  dehydration  of 
water  gas  tar  is  to  recover  a  marketable  product  with  less  than  5 
per  cent  moisture  from  water  gas  tar  emulsions  that  cannot  be 
resolved  by  ordinary  measures. 

In  small  gas  plants  where  it  is  desired  to  burn  water  gas  tar 
the  gravity  feed  system  is  ordinarily  used;  that  is,  the  bottom  of 
the  tar  tank  is  placed  about  4  feet  above  the  burners  and  the  water 
gas  tar  is  allowed  to  flow  by  gravity  to  the  burners.  Gravity  feed 
is  ordinarily  used  even  though  the  tank  may  be  quite  a  distance 
from  the  building  and  the  power  plant  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
street.  We  have  noticed  that  sometimes  the  pipes  will  be  so  as- 
sembled as  to  make  a  vapor  pocket.  In  case  it  is  necessary  to  as- 
semble the  pipes  so  that  the  making  of  a  vapor  pocket  is  inevitable, 
be  sure  to  vent  the  pipe  in  the  manner  shown  in  cut  below. 

Place  the  gauze  over  the  return  bend.  Without  a  proper  vent  be- 
ing placed  upon  this  pipe  you  will  always  be  troubled  with  an  inter- 
mittent flame. 

CAUTION  :— 

In  pumping  water  gas  tar  or  coal  tar  do  not  use  brass  lined 
or  brass  fitted  pumps,  such  as  are  used  in  the  pumping  of  oil,  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  there  is  a  chemical  action  which  destroys 
their  action  in  a  very  short  time.  Use  iron  lined  pumps  having 
iron  pistons  and  other  fittings  for  this  purpose. 

When  burning  water  gas  tar  do  not  heat  it  as  when  burning  oil 
below  20  gravity  Baume  or  when  burning  coal  tar,  which  must  be 
heated  in  order  to  make  it  fluid.  A  circulating  system  should 
always  be  used  with  coal  tar  as  it  is  high  in  free  carbon. 

Coke  oven  benches  can  be  operated  successfully  by  the  use  of 
water  gas  tar  as  a  fuel,  but  do  not  try  to  use  coal  tar,  as  it  has  been 
found  very  unsatisfactory  because  the  free  carbon  contents  in  the 


COMMERCIAL  GAS  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT         139 


140 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


COMMERCIAL  GAS  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT         141 

tar  stops  the  flow  of  oil  to  the  burner  in  the  oil-regulating  cock. 
The  stream  or  column  of  tar  passing  through  the  burner  is  not 
greater  than  %2  inch  in  diameter,  and  hence  the  free  carbon  in  a 
few  minutes  clogs  the  opening.  Of  course  any  grade  of  crude  oil 
can  be  used  in  the  operation  of  coke  oven  benches,  a  cut  of  which 
is  shown  on  page  140. 


Chapter  X 
SUGAR   INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 

The  use  of  bagasse  as  fuel  is  of  course  the  common  practice  in 
all  sugar  centrales,  and  we  take  pleasure  in  showing  several  dif- 
ferent forms  of  installations.  Some  centrales  desire  to  heat  the 
bagasse  furnace  by  oil  before  the  bagasse  is  charged,  while  others 
prefer  to  use  wood  for  this  purpose.  The  more  modern  practice  is 
to  use  oil,  but  it  is  not  good  practice  to  use  oil  as  fuel  in  the  bagasse 
chamber  along  with  the  bagasse  using  both  fuels  at  the  same  time, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  oil  cannot  secure  sufficient  oxygen  to 
effect  perfect  combustion.  If  bagasse  is  used  the  oil  burner  should 
be  installed  in  the  side  wall  of  the  fire-box,  or  in  the  end  wall,  as 
shown  in  accompanying  cuts. 

We  usually  estimate  that  three  gallons  of  oil  are  required  per  ton 
of  bagasse  burned  in  order  to  maintain  the  boiler  rating.  If,  how- 
ever, it  is  desired  to  raise  the  boiler  rating  with  an  oil  burner  or 
liquid  fuel  injecting  apparatus,  you  can  readily  increase  the  horse- 
power of  the  boiler  to  200  per  cent  rating.  Some  of  the  bagasse 
furnaces  are  now  being  built  so  large  that  the  boiler  rating  can 
be  attained  and  maintained  without  the  use  of  oil  fuel,  but  it  is 
of  course  dangerous  to  depend  wholly  upon  bagasse  as  fuel  for  there 
might  be  an  accident  which  would  delay  its  delivery.  It  is  better 
practice  to  always  be  prepared  to  use  oil  if  necessary,  and  thus 
insure  the  successful  operation  of  the  plant  at  all  times. 

We  ordinarily  figure  on  the  calorific  value  of  sugar  containing 
7120  B.t.u.  as  cellulose  7533  B.t.u.  and  glucose  6748  B.t.u.  per 
pound.  Taking  these  heats  of  combustion  as  a  basis,  and  assuming 
that  the  fibre  has  the  same  fuel  value  as  the  cellulose,  it  is  possible 
to  calculate  the  thermal  value  of  bagasse.  Thus  a  bagasse  of  com- 
position fibre  42  per  cent  and  sugar  9.666  per  cent  will  afford  on 
complete  combustion,  .42x7533— .0966x7120  or  3821  B.t.u.  per 
pound  for  the  fibre  and  sugar  alone,  to  which  must  be  added  that 
due  to  the  glucose  and  other  organic  matter.  If  this  be  taken  as 
one-tenth  that  due  to  the  sugar  (the  gross  thermal  value  of  the 
sugar) ,  the  gross  thermal  value  of  the  bagasse  will  be  3920  B.t.u. 

142 


SUGAR  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


143 


144 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


bfl 


be 


.SP 

6. 


SUGAR  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


145 


.s 

CO 

C 

Oi 

fi 

I 

60 

c 

§ 
I 


1 


146 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


SUGAR  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


147 


148 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


SUGAR  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


149 


150 


BURNING  LIQUID   FUEL 


per  unit  of  dry  matter,  and  supposing  the  bagasse  contains  47  per 
cent  water,  7396  B.t.u. 

The  refuse  molasses  of  sugar  works  can  be  burned  in  combination 
with  oil  through  a  modern  atomizing  burner.     This  by-product 


SUGAR  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT  151 

(molasses)  is  very  low  in  its  calorific  value,  not  having  more  than 
3.400  B.t.u.  per  pound. 

In  sugar  refineries  oil  is  also  an  ideal  fuel  for  char  kilns,  for  its 
use  enables  you  to  get  a  more  even  distribution  of  heat  than  you 
can  with  coal  or  coke. 


Chapter  XI 
STEEL  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 

Oil  is  an  ideal  fuel  in  steel  foundries  because  you  can  get  the 
maximum  output  from  the  furnaces.  In  ordinary  practice  using 
producer  gas  but  two  heats  a  day  can  be  obtained  from  the  open 
hearth  furnaces,  while  with  oil  three  heats  are  the  ordinary  prac- 
tice. Of  course  by  the  use  of  oil  you  can  maintain  better  tempera- 
tures than  you  could  hope  to  obtain  from  producer  gas. 

In  changing  an  open  hearth  furnace  in  which  originally  either 
natural  or  producer  gas  has  been  used,  it  is  necessary  to  close  the 
original  gas  port  at  each  end  of  the  furnace  and  build  up  a  dog- 
house of  fire-brick. 

The  oil  burners  (if  not  water- jacketed)  are  mounted  with  swivel 
joints  so  that  they  can  be  swung  back  out  of  the  furnace  when  not 
needed.  The  operating  valves  may  be  located  close  to  the  burner  or 
wherever  they  are  most  convenient  for  the  operator.  When  a 
water-cooled  type  of  oil  burner  is  used,  it  is  not  necessary  to  con- 
struct a  dog-house  on  each  end  of  the  furnace  nor  is  it  necessary  to 
remove  the  burner  each  time  that  the  furnace  is  reversed. 

Referring  to  Figs.  133  and  134  showing  manner  of  applying  oil 
to  a  gas-fired  furnace,  you  will  see  that  the  gas  regenerators  are  also 
used  to  preheat  the  air  in  conjunction  with  the  air  regenerators, 
the  port  leading  to  both  regenerators.  It  is  obvious  that  by  utilizing 
both  the  air  and  the  original  gas  regenerators,  the  slag  will  not 
injure  the  furnace  draft  conditions  as  quickly  as  when  only  using 
the  air  regenerators. 

In  a  modern  oil-fired  open-hearth  furnace  the  air  is  admitted 
immediately  under  the  burner  and  the  end  of  the  furnace  should  be 
carefully  constructed  so  that  the  flame  made  by  the  burner  will  fit 
it.  (Fig.  135.) 

By  means  of  a  small  oil  furnace,  the  large  ladles  used  in  steel 
foundries  can  readily  be  heated  to  the  temperature  at  which  the 
molten  metal  is  poured.  When  the  ladle  is  heated  to  the  required 
temperature,  the  cover  is  removed,  the  ladle  placed  in  position  to 
receive  the  charge  and  the  little  heating  furnace  swung  up  out  of 

152 


STEEL  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


153 


the  way.    This  furnace  is  mounted  with  swivel  joints  and  a  counter- 
weight.    (See  Fig.  138). 

In  a  crucible  steel  melting  furnace  of  the  type  shown  in  Fig.  141, 
the  space  occupied  by  the  6  pots  at  the  burner  end  of  the  furnace  is 


Fig.   126.     Open  hearth  furnace  burner.     (See  Fig.  No.   131.) 


termed  the  "melting  zone,"  while  the  remaining  charging  space  is 
called  "preheating  zone."  When  the  metal  in  the  first  6  pots  is 
ready  to  pour,  they  are  removed,  poured,  and  refilled  with  steel 
punching,  while  the  8  remaining  in  the  furnace  are  moved  in  their 
respective  order  into  the  "melting  zone."  The  refilled  6  pots  are 


154 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

— i 1 


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STEEL  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


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156 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


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STEEL  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


157 


then  placed  in  the  "preheating  zone"  of  the  furnace.  This  furnace 
is  a  vast  improvement  over  the  old  style  pan  system  which  was  used 
some  years  ago.  Only  one  burner  is  required  to  atomize  the  oil 
and  distribute  the  heat. 


Fig.  130.     "Dog  house."    View  looking  toward  burner  end. 


Instead  of  closing  off  the  draft  in  the  neck  of  the  furnace  by  the 
old  fashioned  refractory  damper,  you  will  note  the  flat  damper  shown 
which  is  moved  horizontally  and  which  simply  allows  the  air  to  pass 
through  an  opening,  thus  retarding  the  draft  in  the  furnace  and  at 
the  same  time  the  cold  air  admitted  tends  to  reduce  the  temperature 
in  the  flue.  This  refractory  damper  can  be  moved  so  as  to  make  the 
opening  wide  open,  or  just  sufficiently  to  give  a  partial  opening  as 
necessity  demands.  This  type  of  damper  lasts  indefinitely  as  it  can 


158 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


not  burn  away,  and  you  have  a  much  better  control  of  the  furnace. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  move  the  crucibles  from  the  "preheating" 
to  the  "melting  zone"  if  you  use  the  form  of  furnace  construction 
indicated  in  Fig.  142.  This  8-pot  furnace  is  therefore  much  more 
modern  in  its  construction  than  the  14-pot  furnace.  (Fig.  141.) 


Fig.  131.     Diagram  showing  burner  piping, 
swivel  joints,  etc. 


In  steel  foundries  oil  is  especially  attractive  for  large  mould- 
drying  ovens  because  of  the  fact  that,  if  desired,  the  moulds  can 
be  dried  50  per  cent  quicker  and  more  thoroughly  than  by  the  use 
of  coal,  coke  or  gas.  I  can  almost  hear  my  reader,  who  is  the  super- 
intendent of  a  steel  foundry  and  who  has  never  used  oil  as  fuel 
on  his  mould-drying  ovens  say:  "I  do  not  care  to  use  a  fuel  that 


STEEL  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


160 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


will  heat  so  quickly,  for  it  would  simply  ruin  the  moulds" ;  but  my 
friend,  coal  or  coke  gives  a  localized  heat,  whereas  by  the  use  of 
the  method  of  burning  oil  shown  in  Fig.  143  an  absolutely  even 
distribution  of  heat  is  obtained  throughout  the  entire  oven  which 


StCr'O"  Af  ac  -c-  <•  • 


Fig.  133.     Open  hearth  furnace,  changed  from  gas-fired  to  oil. 


in  this  case  is  44  feet  long,  20  feet  wide  and  12  feet  high  in  the 
clear.  This  oven  is  operated  with  only  one  burner.  In  the  com- 
bustion chamber,  which  runs  through  the  center  of  the  entire 
length  of  the  oven,  a  temperature  of  2000  degrees  Fahrenheit  is 
maintained,  which  insures  your  securing  the  highest  possible  effi- 
ciency from  the  fuel.  You  will  note  also  that  the  combustion 


STEEL  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


161 


chamber  has  heat  ports  of  graduated  size  and  such  location  as  to 
insure  an  even  distribution  of  heat.  The  heat  ports  at  the  farther 
end  of  the  combustion  chamber  are  smaller  than  those  at  the  burner 
end.  These  openings  must  be  carefully  figured  out,  for  the  suc- 


Fig.  134.     View  looking  toward  burner  end  of  furnace. 


cess  or  failure  of  the  installation  depends  largely  upon  these  ports. 
The  vents  for  the  escape  of  moisture,  also  the  consumed  and 
inert  gases,  should  always  be  located  in  the  oven  roof  or  arch. 
Never  use  the  old  stack  method.  Give  the  money  ordinarily  spent 
for  the  construction  of  a  stack  to  the  poor  of  the  city  or  to  some 
hospital,  where  it  will  be  of  some  service  to  humanity. 


162 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


STEEL  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


163 


164 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


STEEL   FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


165 


Fig.  138.     Ten-ton  bottom  pour  steel  foundry  ladle  heated  by  a  small 
oil  furnace  which  can  be  swung  aside  when  not  needed. 


166 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


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STEEL   FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


167 


na=: 


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168 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


STEEL  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


169 


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170 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


Fig.  143.     Mould  drying  oven  44  feet  long,  20  feet  wide  by  12  feet  high  in 
the  clear,  operated  with  one  burner. 


Chapter  XII 
HEAT-TREATING  FURNACE    PRACTICE 

In  the  heat-treatment  of  steel  we  must  remember  that  the  value 
of  the  steel  depends  wholly  upon  the  heat-treatment  which  it  re- 
ceives. Steel  is  not  like  copper,  but  is  a  very  complex  artificial 


Fig.  146.     An  indirect-fired  furnace. 

product.  In  its  annealed  state  a  piece  of  .90  carbon  tool  steel  is 
composed  of  ferrite  and  pearlite,  but  these  minerals  are  decom- 
posed when  heated  to  certain  temperatures  and  others  formed. 
For  example,  in  heat-treating  this  tool  steel  there  is  no  perceptible 

171 


172 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


change  until  1360  Fahrenheit  is  reached ;  but  if  the  temperature  is 
increased  to  1460,  ferrite  and  pearlite  have  been  decomposed  and 
martensite  is  formed.  Quenching  at  this  point  preserves  the  mar- 
tensitic  condition  and  the  metal  is  hard  and  brittle.  In  carbon 
steel,  martensite  is  very  sensitive  to  heat  and  decomposes  readily, 
i.  e.,  if  the  steel  is  heated  sufficiently  martensite  disappears  and 


Fig.  147.     View  showing  the  heat  in  an  indirect-fired  furnace  passes 
from  the  heat  chamber  through  graduated  heat  ports. 


ferrite  and  pearlite  are  again  formed.  For  every  variation  of 
heat  there  is  a  variation  in  the  grain  of  the  metal.  This  steel  an- 
neals between  1300  and  1350  degrees  Fahrenheit. 

How  important  it  is,  therefore,  to  have  a  furnace  of  such  con- 
struction that  the  temperature  in  any  portion  of  the  charging 
space  does  not  vary  more  than  10  degrees  Fahrenheit. 


HEAT  TREATING  FURNACE  PRACTICE 


173 


For  the  average  size  indirect-fired  furnace  only  one  burner 
should  be  used,  but  for  a  furnace  approximately  18  feet  wide,  22 
feet  long  x  7  feet  high  (Fig.  151),  two  burners  are  required.  More 
than  two  burners  should  not  be  used,  for  it  is  impossible  to  regu- 
late a  larger  number  of  burners  so  as  to  have  the  heat  as  evenly 
distributed  throughout  the  entire  length  and  width  of  the  furnace 
as  it  should  be  in  order  to  perfectly  heat-treat  the  metal.  If  this 
is  important  in  the  annealing  or  tempering  of  steel,  it  is  equally 
as  essential  in  the  case-hardening  of  metals. 


C A**  r/N& 


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Fig.  148.     View  showing  heat  ports  of  an  indirect-fired  furnace. 


An  indirect-fired  furnace  is  not  suitable  for  the  heat-treatrnent 
of  high  speed  alloy  steel,  for  this  requires  a  much  higher  tempera- 
ture than  carbon  steel.  As  the  temperature  should  be  above  2000 
degrees  Fahrenheit,  I  recommend  a  direct-fired  furnace  having 
combustion  chamber  of  such  form  and  proportions  as  to  insure  the 
ignition  of  the  oxygen  necessary  for  perfect  combustion  with  the 
atomized  fuel  before  it  reaches  the  furnace  proper,  thereby  reduc- 
ing the  oxidation  of  the  metal  to  the  minimum. 

Since  it  is  true  that  the  value  of  steel  depends  wholly  upon  the 


174 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


Fig.   149.     Direct-fired  furnace  with   preheating   chamber  for  high-speed  tool 

steel. 


HEAT  TREATING  FURNACE  PRACTICE 


175 


heat-treatment  it  receives,  to  obtain  the  desired  results  it  is  essen- 
tial to  establish  and  maintain  an  even  temperature  throughout  the 
entire  length  and  width  of  the  furnace.  For  the  heat-treatment 
of  carbon  steel,  which  requires  an  indirect-fired  furnace,  this  can 
only  be  done  by  means  of  graduated  heat  ports.  Only  one  burner 


Fig.  150.     Double  shell  annealing  furnace. 


should  be  used,  the  heat  therefrom  passing  from  the  fire  chamber 
into  the  charging  space  of  the  furnace  through  graduated  heat 
ports  substantially  as  shown  in  Fig.  148.  As  long  as  the  fuel  and 
atomizer  supply  remain  constant,  the  burner,  without  any  adjust- 
ment will  operate  without  causing  the  slightest  variation  in  the 
temperature  of  the  charging  space.  This  type  of  furnace  should  be 


176 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


used  for  all  classes  of  annealing,  case-hardening  and  tempering 
where  the  metal  must  be  kept  away  from  the  direct  flame.     The 


Fig.  151.     Indirect-fired  car  annealing  furnace. 

size  and  the  location  of  the  heat  ports  is  an  engineering  problem 
requiring  most  careful  consideration.    If  they  are  not  scientifically 


HEAT  TREATING  FURNACE  PRACTICE 


177 


and  accurately  proportioned  the  incoming  air  used  for  the  atomiza- 
tion  of  the  fuel  or  to  suppoj-t  combustion  will  cause  an  excessive 
heat  at  the  end  of  the  furnace  opposite  the  burner. 


Fig.  152.     Shaft  annealing  furnace,  car  type,  modern  construction. 

For  high-speed  tool  steel  a  direct-fired  furnace  is  necessary.  The 
more  modern  types  have  a  preheating  chamber  above  the  charging 
space ;  the  waste  gases  from  the  lower  chamber  passing  up  into  the 


178 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


preheating  chamber  slowly  preheat  the  charge  before  it  is  passed 
into  the  furnace  proper,  thus  preventing  the  too  sudden  expansion 
of  the  metal  (see  cut,  Fig.  149) . 

Each  of  the  two  ovens  of  the  double  shell  annealing  furnace  (Fig. 


Fig.  153.     Car  annealing  furnace,  overhead  oil-fired,  operated  with  only  one 

burner. 


150)  requires  a  burner.  These  ovens  are  heated  from  below  and 
the  perforated  cast  iron  drums  are  revolved  by  power.  The  drums 
roll  out  on  the  brackets  in  front  to  charge  or  empty  the  shells. 

The  end  walls  of  the  double  car  annealing  furnace  shown  in  Fig. 
151  are  carried  on  the  cars,  so  it  is  a  very  simple  matter  to  pull 


HEAT  TREATING  FURNACE  PRACTICE 


179 


the  cars  in  and  out  of  the  furnace.  While  two  cars  are  being  heat- 
treated,  others  are  being  filled  and  made  ready  for  charging  and  in 
this  way  the  furnace  is  operated  continuously.  This  furnace  re- 
quires two  burners,  one  in  each  of  the  farther  corners. 

The  car-type  shaft  annealing  furnace    (Fig.   152)    is  of  most 
modern  construction.    It  is  so  built  that  by  means  of  the  heat  ports, 


7'*  ?' 


Fig.  154.     Annealing  furnace,  7  ft.  square,  with  rotary  table. 


the  heat  is  evenly  distributed.  It  can  be  operated  to  maintain  the 
temperature  required  at  all  times  and  that  temprature  will  not  vary 
more  than  ten  degrees  in  any  portion  of  the  entire  length  and  width 
of  the  charging  space. 

By  means  of  differential  gears  the  speed  of  the  rotary  table  shown 
in  Fig.  154  is  regulated  according  to  the  size  of  the  stock  being 


180 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


HEAT  TREATING  FURNACE  PRACTICE 


182 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


ft 

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HEAT  TREATING  FURNACE  PRACTICE      183 

heat-treated,  so  that  when  the  table  has  made  one  revolution,  the 
charge  is  ready  to  be  removed  from  the  furnace. 

By  means  of  either  an  air  jack  or  a  hydraulic  ram,  the  155mm. 
shells,  placed  one  against  the  other,  are  forced  down  the  ways  as 


Fig.   158.     Lead,  oil  or   solution  bath   furnace. 


indicated  in  Figs.  155  and  156.  They  are  heated  as  they  pass 
through  the  furnace  and  after  attaining  the  required  temperature, 
they  automatically  drop  into  the  bath.  From  this  bath  they  are 
carried  into  the  drawing  furnace,  which  is  immediately  opposite 
the  heat-treating  furnace  in  which  they  were  subjected  to  the  higher 
temperature.  Only  one  burner  is  required  on  this  heat-treating 
furnace,  the  combustion  chamber  being  of  adequate  proportions  for 
the  consumption  of  the  atomized  fuel  and  the  even  distribution  of 
the  heat. 

The  cold  punched  nuts  or  cold  headed  rivets  and  bolts  are  charged 
into  the  chute  at  the  burner  end  of  the  rotary  furnace  shown  in 
Fig.  157  and  annealed  while  passing  through  the  revolving  furnace. 
They  then  drop  into  the  hopper,  placed  under  the  farther  end  of 
the  furnace. 

The  type  of  furnace  shown  in  Fig.  158  is  used  in  the  heat-treat- 
ment of  steel  because  it  reduces  oxidization  to  the  minimum.  The 


184 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


pot  or  receptacle  used  for  the  bath  may  be  round  or  oblong  or  what- 
ever shape  and  size  is  most  desirable.  The  tangential  flame  encir- 
cles the  pot  so  that  the  heat  is  evenly  distributed.  The  operator  has 
the  fire  under  perfect  control  and  can  attain  and  maintain  the  tem- 
perature required  to  perfectly  heat-treat  the  metal.  After  once 
being  set,  the  burner  will  operate  continuously  without  the  slightest 
variation  as  long  as  the  Dil  and  air  supply  remain  constant.  The 
burner  requires  either  crude  or  fuel  oil  and  compressed  air.  Vol- 
ume or  fan  air  should  be  used  through  the  volume  air  nozzle  under 
the  burner. 

For  temperatures  up  to  1600  deg.  Fahrenheit,  lead  is  sometimes 
used  as  the  bath  and  it  is  also  sometimes  used  in  drawing  steel  at 


Fig.   159.     Semi-pit  furnace  with  bung  arch  for  annealing,  case-hardening 

or  heat  treating. 


700  deg.  For  a  solution  bath  for  temperatures  ranging  from  1400 
to  1600  deg.  a  good  mixture  is  three  parts  Barium  Chloride  and  two 
parts  Potassium  Carbonate.  Where  a  very  low  temperature  is 
required,  Sodium  Silicate  is  used  as  the  melting  point  of  this  is  113 
deg.  Fahrenheit.  Sodium  melts  at  572  deg.  and  Zinc  at  504  deg. 
Fahrenheit. 

The  bung  arch  on  the  Semi-pit  Furnace  (Fig.  159)  can  be  re- 
moved with  a  crane  or  an  air  hoist.  The  charging  space  of  this 
furnace  is  twelve  feet  long  by  five  feet  wide  and  four  feet  high.  It 
is  operated  with  only  one  burner. 

Many  manufacturers  prefer  to  have  their  furnaces  constructed 
in  their  works  by  their  own  or  a  local  mason.  They  usually  pur- 


HEAT  TREATING  FURNACE  PRACTICE 


185 


chase  the  furnace  designs,  together  with 
the  oil  burner  equipment  from  engi- 
neer in  that  line  of  business.  The  small 
angle  or  heat-treating  furnace  of  semi- 


Fig.  160.     Small  angle  or  heat-treating  furnace  of  semi-muffle  type. 


186  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

muffle  type,  shown  in  Fig.  160,  is  one  which  can  readily  be  con- 
structed in  this  manner  and  is  a  very  well  proportioned  furnace 
for  a  small  plant. 

The  pit  type  furnace  for  steel  foundry  castings  (Fig.  161)  is  six- 
teen feet  wide,  twenty-four  feet  long  and  six  feet  four  inches  to 
the  bung,  is  operated  with  only  one  burner  and  is  of  such  construc- 
tion that  the  waste  gases  pass  out  from  the  base  of  the  furnace 
through  vent  ports. 

It  is  often  necessary  to  change  a  coal  or  coke-fired  furnace  to  oil- 
fired.  In  many  cases  this  can  readily  be  done  by  simply  construct- 
ing a  combustion  chamber  in  the  firebox  and  bricking  up  the  firing 
door  as  shown  in  Fig.  163. 

A  few  years  ago  but  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  annealing  of 
grey  iron  castings.  However,  experience  has  taught  us  the  neces- 
sity of  removing  as  far  as  possible  all  strains  from  these  castings. 
The  declined  hearth  furnace  (Fig.  164)  has  been  constructed  for 
the  annealing  of  various  sizes  of  cast  iron  pipe.  The  arch  is  pro- 
vided with  two  doors  (located,  one  on  either  side  of  the  burner) 
which  can  be  raised  just  sufficiently  to  admit  the  various  sizes  of 
pipe. 

In  Fig.  165,  we  have  a  battery  of  three  furnaces  for  heat-treating 
automobile  springs.  First,  there  is  the  high  temperature  furnace  in 
which  the  stock  is  charged  before  being  bent.  Number  two  is  the 
heat-treating  furnace  in  which  the  flat  springs,  after  being  bent, 
are  charged  and  heated  to  approximately  1640  deg.  Fahrenheit. 
The  quenching  tank  is  not  shown,  but  after  being  quenched,  the 
springs  are  charged  into  furnace  number  three  where  they  are 
drawn  to  680  deg.  This  battery  of  furnaces  is  ideal  for  a  repair 
plant  but  of  course  it  is  at  all  times  necessary  for  the  plant  metal- 
lurgist to  determine  the  temperatures  required  as  these  will  vary 
according  to  the  carbon  content  of  the  steel. 

The  use  of  hot-air  furnaces  for  drawing  steel  (Fig.  166)  has  had 
a  remarkable  growth  during  the  past  two  years,  because  they  are 
clean  and  admirably  adapted  for  the  distribution  of  heat.  More- 
over they  can  be  located  in  a  small  building  some  distance  from  the 
factory  if  desired,  or  they  can  be  installed  in  the  basement  or  in 
any  other  portion  of  the  building  or  factory.  There  is  no  fuel 
superior  to  oil  for  this  class  of  service. 


HEAT  TREATING  FURNACE  PRACTICE 

••/?^8:r«.£ 


187 


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— 

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188 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


I  hope  I  have  made  it  clear  in  the  heat-treatment  of  metals  of 
the  need  of  the  following : 

1st — The  combustion  chambers  must  be  of  adequate  proportions 
to  deliver  the  quantity  of  heat  generated  in  them  to  the  furnace 


HEAT  TREATING  FURNACE  PRACTICE 


189 


Fig.  163.     Coal  or  coke-fired  heat-treating  furnace  changed  to  oil-fired. 


190 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


proper,  and  by  the  aid  of  the 
burner  given  even  distribu- 
tion of  heat  throughout  the 
entire  length  and  width  of  the 
furnace. 

2nd — The  burner  must  pro- 
duce a  flame  which  fits  the 
combustion  chamber  per- 
fectly,—  as  perfectly  as  a 
drawer  fits  its  opening  in  a 
desk. 

3rd — The  use  of  the  min- 
imum number  of  burners  in  a 
furnace. 

I  have  no  patience  with  that 
type  of  engineering  which  will 
put  say  six  burners  on  one 
side  and  eight  burners  on  the 
other  side  of  a  furnace,  and  if 
that  does  not  give  the  required 
temperature,  put  in  some 
more  burners.  That  is  mere 
guesswork — not  engineering 
at  all! 

The  combustion  engineer 
who,  knowing  the  era  of  a 
heat-treating  furnace,  and 
who,  after  having  been  given 
information  by  the  metallurg- 
ist of  the  plant  as  to  the 
length  of  the  metal  to  be 
charged  into  the  furnace, 
weight  of  same,  and  the 
length  of  time  this  metal  is  to 
remain  in  the  furnace,  cannot 
figure  the  amount  of  oil  and 
amount  of  air  required  to 
bring  that  metal  to  the  re- 
quired temperature  within  a 
given  length  of  time,  is  not 


HEAT  TREATING  FURNACE  PRACTICE 


191 


worthy  of  the  name  of  "combustion  engineer".  He  is  a  leech,  yes,  an 
enemy  of  society.  He  is  like  the  so-called  engineers  who  strive  to 
obtain  a  great  deal  of  information  from  a  practical  engineer,  and 
then  sell  that  information  to  an  unsuspecting  client.  I  have  no  pa- 
tience with  such  enemies  of  society,  nor  would  I  allow  them  their 
liberty  in  any  State  in  the  Union  if  I  had  my  way. 


f=lG-/ 


Fig.  165.     Battery  of  three  automobile  spring  heat-treating  furnaces. 

To-day  an  engineer  must  know  his  business.  He  cannot  apologize 
for  anything,  for  knowledge  is  power  and  his  power  depends  upon 
his  practical  knowledge  which  he  gives  his  client  to  benefit  the 
world.  The  man  who  does  not  make  his  contribution  honestly 
should  not  live.  He  should  be  a  benefit  to  the  world  in  his  chosen 
profession, — not  a  curse. 


192 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


HEAT  TREATING  FURNACE  PRACTICE       193 

There  are  a  great  many  people  who  can  write  articles  or  treatises 
on  how  to  weld  two  pieces  of  metal  together,  but  were  they  asked 
by  their  clients  to  make  a  weld  they  would  fail  miserably.  The 
average  manufacturer  who  desires  to  remain  in  business  for  any 
length  of  time  and  who  wants  the  assurance  of  being  able  to  con- 
tinue to  prosper,  needs  men  who  can  demonstrate  the  truth  of 
their  statements  and  who  can  prove  their  premises  rather  than 
merely  give  theories. 


Chapter  XIII 

MALLEABLE    IRON,  GREY  IRON  AND 
BRASS  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 

Many  attempts  to  burn  liquid  fuel  in  Air  Furnaces  have  failed 
because  of  the  operator  not  being  able  to  melt  the  full  charge  or 
to  get  the  metal  as  hot  as  when  burning  coal.  Often  the  charge 
was  oxidized  to  such  extent  that  what  metal  did  become  molten 
was  practically  worthless.  Usually  a  number  of  burners,  each 
giving  a  round  flame,  have  been  placed  in  the  side-wall  of  the 
furnace,  and  as  the  number  of  burners  was  increased  the  equip- 
ment became  more  and  more  intricate.  Something  had  to  take 
the  blame  for  the  wasted  time,  material  and  effort,  so  oil  was  con- 
demned as  being  unworthy  of  further  consideration. 

As  oil  has  a  much  higher  calorific  value  than  coal  the  natural 
conclusion  is  that  it  ought  to  be  able  to  melt  the  metal  in  a  much 
shorter  period  of  time.  Not  only  that,  but  it  should  also  be  able 
to  bring  the  metal  to  the  temperature  required  for  even  the  small- 
est castings.  It  can  do  both  if  properly  applied,  and,  furthermore, 
the  quality  of  the  metal  is  improved,  for  by  chemical  analysis  and 
numerous  tests  it  has  been  found  that  the  castings  contain  no 
more  sulphur  than  the  metal  did  when  charged  into  the  furnace, 
and  the  tensile  strength  is  consequently  greater  than  that  of  metal 
melted  by  coal  fire.  As  the  melter  has  the  furnace  under  perfect 
control  the  heats  can  be  taken  off  much  quicker  than  while  burning 
coal  and  the  temperature  of  the  charge  while  being  tapped  can  be 
maintained  without  varying  more  than  25  degrees  Fahrenheit 
until  all  the  charge  has  been  run  from  the  furnace.  The  operation 
of  skimming  is  materially  decreased — this  is  a  very  noticeable  im- 
provement which  is  especially  appreciated  by  the  melter.  The 
high  calorific  value  of  oil  also  enables  the  melter  to  estimate  within 
a  few  minutes  the  exact  time  when  the  charge  will  be  ready  to  tap, 
which  is  a  great  contrast  to  conditions  while  burning  coal,  espe- 
cially in  rainy  weather,  when  climatic  conditions  are  unfavorable 
and  the  stack  draft  is  materially  affected. 

The  change  from  coal  to  oil  is  a  very  simple  matter.     In  the 

194 


IRON  AND  BRASS  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


195 


196 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


IRON  AND  BRASS  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE  197 

original  fire-box  I  construct  a  combustion  chamber  of  such  form 
and  proportions  that  the  air  necessary  for  perfect  combustion  can 
unite  with  the  atomized  fuel  before  it  reaches  the  furnace,  which 
prevents  oxidization  of  the  charge.  Also  this  chamber  causes  the 
heat  to  be  deflected  upon  the  entire  surface  of  the  bath.  In  the 
end  of  the  combustion  chamber  I  place  a  hydro-carbon  burner 
which  makes  a  fan-shaped  blaze,  filling  the  entire  chamber  with 
flame.  A  very  small  quantity  of  compressed  air  is  used  through 
the  burner  to  atomize  the  fuel  and  distribute  the  heat,  while  the 
balance  of  the  air  necessary  for  perfect  combustion  is  supplied  at 
from  3  to  6  ounce  pressure  through  a  volume  air  nozzle. 

The  furnace  is  charged  in  the  usual  manner.  The  burner  is 
started  by  opening  the  air  valve,  holding  a  piece  of  burning  waste 
(which  has  been  well  saturated  with  kerosene)  by  means  of  a  pair 
of  pick-up  tongs  under  the  burner  and  then  turning  on  the  oil. 
The  operation  is  so  very  simple  that  one  must  see  it  in  order  to 
appreciate  that  you  can  get  as  intense  heat  with  it  in  a  few  minutes 
as  from  burning  coal  for  several  hours. 

The  reduction  in  the  time  required  to  get  the  charge  ready  for 
tapping  is  not  the  only  point  wherein  oil  is  more  economical  than 
coal.  There  is  no  handling  of  fuel  and  ashes,  consequently  the 
services  of  the  fireman  and  coal  passers  are  dispensed  with.  There 
is  great  saving  in  floor  space,  for  the  oil  tank  is  placed  underground 
and  the  former  coal  bins  used  for  other  purposes.  The  fire-brick 
lining  of  the  furnace  lasts  20  per  cent  longer  than  with  coal.  Poor 
castings  or  imperfect  ones  caused  by  the  metal  being  cool  or 
sluggish  are  obviated  entirely,  for  with  liquid  fuel  the  question  is 
not  "How  hot  can  you  make  the  metal  ?"  but  "How  hot  do  you  wish 
it  ?"  All  these  items  should  be  taken  into  consideration  when  com- 
paring the  relative  costs  of  using  oil  and  coal  in  air  furnaces. 

During  years  of  close  observation  I  have  particularly  noticed 
one  point  in  this  class  of  service.  It  is  this.  Using  the  combustion 
chamber  herein  described,  a  burner  giving  a  flame  to  fit  this  com- 
bustion chamber  and  admitting  volume  air  through  an  air  nozzle 
located  below  the  burner  insures  not  only  the  hottest  portion  of 
the  furnace  being  where  it  is  most  needed,  viz. :  the  bath  or  charg- 
ing space,  but  also  the  elimination  of  the  detrimental  effect  of  any 
sulphur  which  may  be  in  the  oil  or  tar.  This  is  accomplished  with 
this  construction  for  the  following  reason, — the  air  admitted  be- 
tween the  flame  and  the  bath  or  charge  must  pass  through  the. 


198 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


IRON  AND  BRASS  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


199 


atomized  consuming  fuel  and  thus  the  sulphur  is  consumed  before 
it  reaches  the  furnace  proper.  The  gases  rising  therefrom  being 
lighter  quickly  ascend  to  the  arch  of  the  furnace.  If,  however,  the 
air  is  admitted  around  the  burner  or  above  the  burner,  and  no  com- 
bustion chamber  is  used,  the  sulphur  is  not  consumed  in  the  manner 
above  described,  but  is  absorbed  by  the  metal. 

Strange  to  relate,  the  first  air  furnace  in  which  oil  was  success- 
fully burned  was  located  on  the  identical  spot  where  the  first  mal- 
leable iron  was  made  in  the  United  States  by  Seth  Boyden  at  28 
Orange  Street,  Newark,  New  Jersey. 


Fig.  172.      Fire-box   of    air   furnace   equipped   with 
liquid  fuel  injecting  apparatus. 

Figure  170  shows  an  air  furnace  such  as  is  used  in 
foundries  in  which  rolls  are  made.  The  rolls  are  rolled  in  at  the 
end  door  of  the  furnace  when  it  is  cold.  The  doors  are  then  mudded 
up  so  that  the  furnace  will  be  hermetically  sealed,  and  the  burner 
operated.  Oil  in  this  practice  has  many  advantages  over  other 
fuels  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  temperature  of  the  metal  may  be 
maintained  at  all  times,  which  is  very  important  in  this  practice. 
Of  course  pyrometers  should  always  be  used  on  the  furnaces,  as 
it  is  very  important  that  the  metal  does  not  become  too  hot  before 
being  poured  into  the  molds. 


200  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

Air  furnace  with  bung  top  (Fig.  171)  for  melting  grey  iron. 
With  this  construction  the  oxidation  of  the  metal  is  reduced  to 
the  minimum,  and  since  it  is  a  fact  that  variations  of  400  to  500 
degrees  Fahrenheit  make  a  different  metal,  it  is  very  important 
to  use  an  optical  pyrometer  upon  these  furnaces.  It  is  a  well- 
known  fact  that  by  varying  the  temperature  of  grey  iron  200  de- 
grees Fahrenheit  you  make  a  new  metal.  It  is  therefore  impor- 
tant to  have  all  portions  of  the  bath  at  practically  the  same  tem- 
perature. This  can  be  effected  in  an  air  furnace  because  immedi- 
ately after  the  metal  has  become  molten  it  reverberates  and  is  kept 
in  a  constant  state  of  agitation  until  ready  to  pour. 

Some  day  not  far  in  the  future  oil  will  find  its  place  in  every  grey- 
iron  foundry  in  the  United  States.  At  present  cupolas  are  used, 
but  every  one  realizes  that  cast  iron  belongs  to  an  unruly  family 
and  that  it  is  materially  affected  by  high  or  low  temperatures. 
Again,  the  oxidation  of  the  metal  in  coke-fired  cupolas  is  excessive ; 
but  with  an  air  furnace  or  other  types  of  oil  furnaces  oxidation  is 
reduced  to  a  minimum;  the  temperature  of  metal  desired  can  be 
attained  and  maintained  without  variation  from  day  to  day  regard- 
less of  climatic  conditions,  etc.  I  have  prophesied  that  there  is  a 
great  future  for  oil  in  this  particular  service,  but  like  every  other 
new  idea  it  takes  time  and  thought  to  fully  develop  it. 

The  liquid  fuel  injecting  apparatus  is  sometimes  used  in  air 
furnaces  in  which  coal  is  used  as  a  fuel.  The  oil  is  used  in  combina- 
tion with  the  coal  in  order  to  bring  the  temperature  up  as  quickly 
as  possible.  The  apparatus  is  placed  on  the  end  of  the  furnace, 
substantially  as  shown  in  Fig.  172. 

In  the  design  of  a  furnace  for  the  melting  of  malleable  iron  it  is 
absolutely  essential  to  have  the  combustion  chamber  of  certain 
proportions  in  order  to  insure  the  consumption  of  the  atomized 
fuel  before  reaching  the  bath,  for  if  any  unmixed  air  is  admitted 
into  the  melting  zone  of  the  furnace  it  means  not  only  loss  of  metal 
by  oxidation,  but  also  the  burning  out  of  the  silicon  in  the  metal. 

I  know  a  great  number  of  experiments  have  been  made  in  the 
equipment  of  malleable  iron  furnaces  using  oil  burners  that  make 
a  round  flame,  and  also  using  a  number  of  these  burners;  but 
practice  shows  the  fallacy  of  using  such  nefarious  methods.  If  a 
man  were  to  state  to  you  that  he  could  send  you  a  round  drawer 
that  would  fit  an  oblong  opening  in  your  desk,  you  would  know  he 
was  lying  to  you,  and  such  is  the  case  if  some  one  tells  you  that 


IRON  AND  BRASS  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE  201 

he  can  make  a  round  flame  fit  a  flat  surface.  We  have  had  a  great 
deal  of  experience  in  this  line.  Also  if  the  writer  has  ever  learned 
anything  after  30  years'  experience  in  the  burning  of  liquid  fuel 
it  is  that  it  is  absolutely  essential  to  have  a  combustion  chamber  on 
a  melting  or  heat-treating  furnace.  This  is  as  necessary  as  it  is 
to  have  an  oil  burner,  and  it  is  also  absolutely  necessary  to  have  the 
flame  of  that  burner  fit  the  combustion  chamber  as  perfectly  as 
a  drawer  fits  an  opening  in  a  desk. 

If  it  is  essential  to  use  a  superior  quality  of  fuel  for  the  melting 
of  the  metal  for  malleable  iron  castings,  it  is  just  as  essential  to 
have  that  metal  properly  annealed.  The  old-fashion  coal-fired 
oven  which  often  has  a  difference  in  temperature  of  from  350  de- 
grees Fahrenheit  to  400  degrees  Fahrenheit  between  the  top  and 
bottom  of  the  oven  will  soon  have  to  be  replaced  by  modern  anneal- 
ing equipment  of  such  construction  that  the  oven  will  not  vary  in 
temperature  over  10  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  practice  of  striving 
to  overcome  the  detrimental  uneven  temperature  of  the  oven  by 
placing  a  small  casting  in  the  lower  box  and  gradually  increasing 
the  size  so  that  the  largest  castings  are  placed  in  the  upper  box, 
should  be  discontinued.  We  all  know  that  you  cannot  charge  a 
furnace  by  this  method  and  get  desired  results,  for  this  practice 
is  just  as  disappointing  as  it  is  to  buy  a  box  of  strawberries  and 
find  the  fine  berries  on  the  top  while  those  at  the  bottom  are  small 
and  green,  or  possibly  decayed. 

If  any  metal  is  to  be  heat-treated  it  should  be  heat-treated 
properly.  This  can  only  be  done  by  having  the  proper  tempera- 
tures. I  am  very  well  aware  that  many  old  style  ovens  have  a 
number  of  tunnels  below  the  charging  space,  but  these  are  ex- 
amined only  once  in  every  3  or  4  years,  and  are  often  found  to  be 
clogged  with  broken  refractory  material  which  of  course  gives  very 
disappointing  results.  I  have  often  spoken  with  men  who  inform 
me  that  the  ovens  were  heated  at  the  bottom  because  the  heat 
radiated  from  these  gas  flues  upwardly  through  refractory  ma- 
terial, and  heated  the  bottom  of  the  oven.  This  is  impossible.  Such 
statements  are  not  rational  if  the  oven  has  to  come  to  temperature 
in  a  given  length  of  time. 

For  a  number  of  years  oil  has  been  used  for  the  melting  of  brass 
and  kindred  alloys  but  unfortunately  direct-fired  oil  furnaces  were 
recommended  for  this  purpose  which  resulted  in  the  alloys,  which 
melt  at  a  lower  temperature  than  copper,  being  sacrificed,  thus 


202 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


IRON  AND  BRASS  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


203 


204 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


causing  an  irreparable  loss  in  metal,  to  say  nothing  of  the  attend- 
ant change  in  the  composition  of  the  metal.  It  was  indeed  a  sad 
day  when  crucible  furnaces  were  discarded  for  the  direct-fired  oil 
furnace,  but  now,  thanks  to  the  ability  and  fighting  qualities  of 
young  metallurgists  in  (or  who  should  be  in)  every  brass  foundry, 
we  are  again  returning  to  crucible  melting  furnaces.  In  Fig.  177  is 
shown  a  modern  crucible  brass  melting  furnace,  six-pot  capacity. 
You  will  note  that  the  furnace  is  reversible.  That  is,  one  burner 
is  in  operation  until  the  metal  in  the  three  crucibles  in  the  first 
chamber  is  ready  to  pour,  and  during  this  time  the  waste  gases 
passing  in  through  the  second  chamber  on  their  way  to  the  stack 


ATOM/Z/NG 
OIL 


O/L  &KULAT/NG 

COCK 


FAN  BLAST  NOZZLE- 


Fig.  175.     View  showing  the  proper  place  to  hold  the  torch  for  light- 
ing a   furnace   burner. 

have  preheated  the  metal  in  the  second  chamber,  thus  using  the 
waste  gases  as  much  as  possible.  After  the  metal  in  the  first  cham- 
ber has  been  poured  and  the  crucibles  refilled,  the  dampers  to  stack 
are  reversed,  the  plates  over  burner  openings  reversed  and  the 
second  burner  is  started.  The  first  chamber  then  becomes  the  pre- 
heating chamber.  The  heat  in  the  flue  to  stack  is  utilized  to  pre- 
heat the  incoming  air.  Note  the  combination  of  the  damper  or  air 
opening  in  flue  with  the  flue  damper.  The  apparatus  is  so 
arranged  that  when  the  flue  damper  is  closed  a  lug  automatically 


IRON  AND  BRASS  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


205 


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Fig.    176.     Malleable    iron    annealing    furnace. 


206 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


raises  the  air  damper  on  top  of  the  flue  so  that  the  air  is  preheated 
while  passing  through  the  flue  to  burner  end  of  furnace  then  in 
operation.  By  this  means  the  air  necessary  for  perfect  combustion 
is  preheated  by  heat  which  would  simply  have  been  wasted  in  the 
ordinary  type  of  furnace  construction.  Convenient  means  are 
provided  for  operating  both  dampers  and  covers.  This  furnace 


Fig.   177.     A  modern   six-pot  brass  melting   furnace. 

is  constructed  for  various  sizes  and  numbers  of  crucibles  and  be- 
sides being  efficient  and  economical  it  reduces  the  loss  in  metal  to 
the  minimum. 

Scrap  brass  is  charged  into  the  four-ton  melting  furnace  shown 
in  Fig.  178,  made  molten  by  the  heat  from  the  one  burner  and 
poured  into  ingots.  After  being  analyzed  by  the  metallurgist,  these 


IRON  AND  BRASS  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


207 


208 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


IRON  AND  BRASS  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


209 


ingots  are  stacked  in  their  respective  order  ready  to  be  melted  in 
crucible  furnaces.  The  combustion  chamber,  you  will  note,  is  of 
adequate  proportions  to  reduce  the  loss  of  metal  through  oxidiza- 


i 


MJLlJi 


i  LI  LS  i 


0  E3 


Fig.  180.     Furnace  for  annealing  or  heat-treatment  of  sheet  copper  or  brass 

tion  to  the  minimum.  Yellow  brass  must  be  melted  very  carefully. 
To  prevent  excessive  loss  of  metal,  a  neutral  flame  should  be  main- 
tained at  all  times  and  this  can  only  be  done  by  using  just  one 
burner  and  a  combustion  chamber  of  adequate  proportions. 


210  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

In  order  to  obtain  the  required  alloy  within  one-half  of  one  per 
centum,  it  is  necessary  to  use  crucible  furnaces,  of  which  a  battery, 
changed  from  coke  to  oil-fired,  is  shown  in  Fig.  179. 

In  small  foundries  an  oil-fired  crucible  furnace  (Fig.  181), 
is  used  for  melting  brass,  copper  and  other  alloys.  The  capacity 
of  this  furnace  is  either  a  No.  60,  No.  70  or  No.  80  crucible.  This 
furnace  has  a  combustion  chamber  of  such  form  and  proportions 
that  the  tangential  flame  and  heat  encircles  the  crucible  and  is 
evenly  distributed  without  any  cutting  effect  upon  the  crucible. 
The  air  necessary  for  perfect  combustion  unites  with  the  consum- 


Fig.  181.     Single  oil-fired  crucible  furnace  for  brass  melting,  etc. 


ing  fuel  in  the  combustion  chamber  before  it  reaches  the  crucible ; 
thus  the  life  of  the  crucible  is  prolonged  because  of  oxidation  being 
reduced  to  the  minimum. 

For  the  annealing  or  heat-treatment  of  sheet  copper  or  brass  in 
rolling  mills  it  is  essential  that  the  furnace  be  accurately  and  evenly 
heated,  and  for  this  purpose  oil,  scientifically  applied,  is  a  fuel 
which  cannot  be  surpassed.  In  a  furnace  about  8  feet  6  inches 
wide  by  30  feet  long  two  burners  should  be  installed,  while  for  a 
smaller  furnace  only  one  burner  is  required.  I  know  some  firms 
have  equipped  these  furnaces  by  installing  a  large  battery  of 
burners,  but  the  results  have  always  been  unsatisfactory  as  the 
complicated  operation  of  all  these  burners  is  simply  a  source  of 
worry  to  the  operator. 


IRON  AND  BRASS  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


211 


Figure  182  illustrates  manner  of  equipping  an  ordinary  Core 
or  Mold  Drying  oven  in  which  coke  or  coal  has  heretofore  been 
used.  One  burner  is  placed  in  the  former  ash  pit  of  each  fire-box, 
and  the.  combustion  of  the  fuel  is  so  perfect  that  no  soot  ever  settles 
on  the  cores.  The  Controlling  Valves  and  Oil  Regulating  Cock,  you 
will  note,  are  placed  in  positions  convenient  for  the  operator.  As  the 
operator  has  the  fire  under  perfect  control,  he  can  dry  the  material 
as  quickly  or  as  slowly  as  is  desired.  Liquid  fuel  gives  a  more 
penetrating  heat  than  coal  or  coke,  and  it  has  been  found,  that,  if 
desired,  as  many  cores  can  be  dried  in  twenty-five  minutes  as  in 


Fig.  182.     Core  or  mold  drying  oven  changed  from  coke  or  coal  to  oil-fired. 

three  hours  while  using  coal  as  fuel.  This  shows  an  old  fashion 
type  of  core  oven  in  which  coke  or  poor  coal  was  originally  used 
as  a  fuel.  The  fire-box  is  utilized  as  a  heat  chamber. 

We  always  recommend  the  modern  type  of  core  oven  where 
the  combustion  chamber  runs  longitudinally  with  the  length  of 
the  oven  and  has  graduated  heat  ports,  as  this  insures  an  even  heat 
at  the  base  of  the  oven  and  distributes  same  from  each  side  of  the 
combustion  chamber.  The  heat  radiates  upwardly  and  the  oven 
is  vented  through  the  arch  or  roof  of  the  oven  as  shown  in  Fig.  183. 


212 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


In  molding  or  core  drying  ovens  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  use 
a  recording  instrument  to  record  the  temperature  attained  and 


.SP 


maintained  in  the  oven.  A  great  saving  of  fuel  is  thus  effected  and 
all  guesswork  eliminated.  There  should  be  dampers  provided  for 
the  heat  ports  of  the  long  battery  of  Millet  Ovens  shown  in  Fig.  185, 


IRON  AND  BRASS  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE 


213 


so  that  the  supply  of  heat  for  each  individual  oven  may  be  con- 
trolled according  to  requirements. 

For  ladle  heating  oil   in   steel  foundries,   grey-iron  foundries, 


bfi 


malleable  iron  foundries,  brass  foundries,  etc.,  is  far  superior  to  all 
other  fuels.  The  various  metals  must  be  heated  to  certain  temper- 
atures before  being  poured,  and  one  of  the  new  theories  advanced 
during  the  past  few  years  is  that  the  ladles  should  be  heated  to 
approximately  the  temperature  at  which  the  metal  is  poured.  This 


214 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


LO 

oo 


bJO 


IRON  AND  BRASS  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE  215 

sounds  reasonable  for  if  it  is  essential  that  the  metal  be  at  a  cer- 
tain temperature  when  poured,  it  is  also  equally  important  that 
it  be  not  chilled  while  being  poured  into  the  ladles.  Oil  is  the  fuel 
whereby  the  ladles  can  be  properly  heated  to  the  same  temperature 
as  the  molten  metal. 

A  ladle-heating  furnace  is  shown  in  Fig.  No.  138  of  Chapter  11. 


Chapter  XIV 
MODERN  FORGE  SHOP  PRACTICE 

The  blacksmith  requires  more  judgment  than  any  other  trades- 
man. He  has  always  been  known  to  history.  In  the  Bible  we  are 
told  of  Tubal-Cain,  that  ancient  forger  of  cutting  instruments  of 
brass  and  iron.  He  evidently  was  not  only  a  man  of  brawn  but 
also  of  brains,  for  he  was  the  maker  of  articles  having  great  ten- 
sile strength.  He  was  a  scientist  who  knew  the  value  of  heat  and 
made  his  contribution  to  the  world.  His  name  has  been  immor- 
talized because  of  his  knowledge  of  heat  and  metals. 

Heat  is  the  most  complex  subject  in  the  world  we  have  to  deal 
with,  and  our  meager  knowledge  of  it  is  the  only  thing  that  has 
separated  us  from  the  brute.  "The  Village  Blacksmith,"  was  the 
subject  of  a  poem  written  by  our  great  American  poet,  Henry  W. 
Longfellow.  It  is  a  poetic  gem,  greatly  admired  by  not  only  the 
members  of  this  craft  but  also  by  all  lovers  of  poetry.  The  black- 
smith is  found  in  every  shop  to-day  where  iron  and  steel  are  used. 
He  has  been  one  of  the  indispensable  tradesmen  in  every  clime 
and  age  until  now  he  is  a  world-power  and  manufacturing  genius 
To-day  a  successful  forgeman  must  have  a  practical  knowledge  of 
mechanics,  for  powerful  machinery  must  be  used  in  modern  forge 
shops,  and  as  the  day  of  the  Village  Blacksmith  has  long  since 
passed,  he  must  also  have  a  knowledge  of  metallurgy,  of  drop  and 
steam  hammering,  forging  machines,  etc.  He  must  also  have  a 
knowledge  of  instruments  recording  accurate  temperatures  as  these 
instruments  must  be  used  in  heat-treating  furnaces,  for  the  value 
of  steel  depends  upon  its  heat-treatment.  Also,  the  study  of  fuels 
and  furnace  construction  is  necessary  for  modern  shop  practice. 

Various  fuels  demand  different  forms  of  furnace  construction, 
and  I  am  frank  to  say  without  fear  of  contradiction  that  more 
development  has  been  made  in  furnace  construction  in  the  last  five 
years  than  from  the  time  of  Tubal-Cain  up  to  1915.  The  metal- 
lurgist of  a  plant  demands  whatever  improvements  in  furnace  con- 
struction will  produce  the  highest  quality  of  metal,  and  perfect 
radiation  of  heat  can  only  be  accomplished  by  scientific  furnace 

216 


MODERN  FORGE  SHOP  PRACTICE  217 

construction  and  intelligent  operation  of  same.  The  day  of  guess- 
work, such  as  heating  metals  to  a  cherry  red  or  indigo  blue,  has 
vanished,  having  given  place  to  recording  pyrometers  in  order  that 
the  steel  of  certain  alloys  may  have  the  proper  heat  treatment.  The 
metallurgist  is  now  an  indispensable  man  in  a  modern  forge  shop. 

The  dominant  fuel  of  the  various  ages  has  been  used  by  the 
craftsmen  of  each  generation,  but  to-day  oil  is  accepted  as  the 
incomparable  fuel  for  forging  and  heat-treating  of  metals. 

Fuel  from  the  beginning  of  civilization  has  been  the  developer 
of  tribes  and  nations.  In  the  more  remote  days  when  one  tribe 
wished  to  overpower  another  their  first  effort  was  to  destroy  the 
fire  of  the  other  tribe,  and  after  the  destruction  of  the  hearth  fire 
the  tribe  sustaining  the  loss  became  enslaved  to  the  victorious 
tribe.  It  is  still  true  in  national  life  that  the  nation  which  con- 
serves its  fuel  is  the  dominant  nation  on  earth.  It  always  has 
been  and  always  will  be. 

This  is  the  petroleum  age,  and  liquid  fuel  has  been  found  to 
be  superior  to  coal  or  other  solid  fuels.  The  nation  which  con- 
trols and  intelligently  conserves  this,  the  world's  greatest  mineral 
resource,  will  be  the  most  powerful  nation  on  earth.  Its  people 
will  be  the  most  prosperous  and  happy.  I  hope  that  the  heat  from 
the  fuel  will  be  tempered  by  love  so  that  it  may  be  a  nation  which 
will  use  its  power  for  good,  governing  with  righteousness  its 
people  and  bringing  a  reign  of  peace  to  the  world. 

Unfortunately  the  World  War  has  created  a  great  demand  for 
this  fuel  in  marine  service  and  our  Government  has  equipped 
many  boilers  on  vessels  without  making  any  preparations  for  a 
change  back  from  oil  to  coal.  The  result  is  that  the  makers  of 
iron  and  steel  forgings  of  all  kinds  are  in  great  need  of  oil.  Many 
forge  plants  have  had  to  change  back  to  coal,  which,  of  course, 
meant  a  deterioration  in  the  quality  of  their  product.  The  United 
States  of  America  is  a  great  manufacturing  country,  and  if  it  is 
to  continue  to  hold  its  reputation  as  such  the  manufacturers  must 
be  given  oil  as  fuel  at  reasonable  prices  even  though  the  Navy 
Department  has  to  return  to  coal.  This  is  necessary  in  order  that 
the  manufacturers  be  able  to  put  forth  a  maximum  output  of  a 
quality  superior  to  that  produced  by  coal.  A  plant  using  oil  in 
its  forging  and  heat-treating  furnaces  can  turn  out  100  per  cent, 
more  work  of  a  better  quality  than  that  of  a  plant  using  coal  as 
a  fuel.  The  United  States  produces  62  per  cent,  of  the  world's 


218  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

oil  production,  and  yet,  strange  to  say,  the  manufacturers  are  in 
great  need  of  this  fuel.  To  change  from  coal  to  oil  in  a  manufac- 
turing plant  is  like  changing  a  tallow  candle  for  an  incandescent 
light.  The  writer  sees  no  reason  why  the  Navy  should  use  oil  if 
this  fuel  is  in  such  a  demand  by  the  manufacturers  of  our  country, 
for  in  marine  boiler  service  on  ocean-going  vessels  it  requires  180 
gallons  of  oil  to  represent  a  long  ton  (2240  pounds)  of  coal  having 
a  calorific  value  of  14,000  B.t.u.  per  pound,  while  in  forging 
furnaces  it  requires  only  82  gallons  of  oil  to  represent  a  ton  of 
this  same  grade  of  coal.  In  heat-treating  furnaces  from  62  to  68 
gallons  of  oil  represent  a  ton  of  coal  of  the  calorific  value  above 
referred  to.  Of  course  labor  is  saved  by  the  use  of  oil  in  the 
operation  of  marine  boilers,  but  the  saving  does  not  begin  to 
compare  with  that  effected  while  operating  furnaces  with  oil  in 
forge  shops. 

The  recent  war  has  revealed  to  foreign  nations  the  value  of 
oil  as  fuel,  and  they  are  now  making  great  efforts  to  secure  this 
fuel.  England  is  a  great  manufacturing  country  and  has  a  grave 
responsibility  in  manufacturing  goods  for  her  colonial  posses- 
sions. She  is  doing  all  in  her  power  to  secure  as  much  of  this  fuel 
as  possible,  and  will  use  it  in  her  factories.  The  nations  which 
conserve  their  oil  and  use  it  in  the  manufacture  of  metals  will  be 
the  great  manufacturing  nations  of  the  future  owing  to  the  fact 
that  they  will  get  the  maximum  quality  and  quantity  of  output. 
I  believe  that  merit  always  tells.  This  is  just  as  true  as  that  a  drop 
forging  has  a  higher  tensile  strength  than  a  casting  of  the  same 
proportions.  No  nation  using  coal  for  manufacturing  purposes 
can  compare  with  a  nation  using  oil.  I  want  to  make  this  very 
plain  and  record  this  in  time  to  make  history.  Therefore  I  am 
sounding  a  note  of  warning  at  this  particular  time.  To-day  the 
watchwords  of  .all  forgemen  are:  first,  QUALITY;  second,  AC- 
CURACY of  form;  and  third,  QUANTITY.  These  three  points 
merit  the  consideration  of  the  purchaser,  and  firms  using  these  as 
their  motto  will  merit  the  kind  consideration  and  patronage  of 
those  who  desire  such  material. 

I  know  it  is  the  sincere  wish  of  the  manufacturers  that  the 
Government  co-operate  with  them  in  procuring  liquid  fuel  at  rea- 
sonable rates  so  that  the  manufacturing  interests  of  our  country 
may  be  protected  and  a  maximum  output  of  superior  quality  pro- 
duced, in  order  that  our  products  may  merit  not  only  the  attention 


MODERN  FORGE  SHOP  PRACTICE  219 

and  consideration  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  but  also  that 
of  the  entire  world.  This  can  be  accomplished  only  by  giving 
manufacturers  the  fuel  by  which  they  can  do  this,  and  that  is 
liquid  fuel,  although  I  prophesy  that  at  no  distant  date  a  combina- 
tion of  coal  and  oil  will  be  used  in  order  to  conserve  both  coal  and 
oil  and  eliminate  smoke  in  many  practices,  at  present  unknown  to 
the  public,  but  we  will  not  deal  with  this  subject  at  great  length 
here. 

The  manufacturers  in  that  section  of  our  country,  which  is  lo- 
cated along  the  Atlantic  Coast  will  be  compelled  to  use  a  low  gravi- 
ty oil,  coming  from  Mexico,  where  it  is  produced  in  great  quan- 
tities. This  varies  in  gravity  from  11  degrees  to  and  including 
16  degrees  gravity  Baume,  but  averages  about  12  degrees.  As 
this  oil  is  high  in  sulphur  contents  combustion  chambers  must  be 
used  in  order  to  eliminate  the  sulphur  as  much  as  possible.  With 
the  proper  oil  installations,  or  systems,  this  fuel  is  readily  burned. 
It  must  be  heated  to  reduce  its  viscosity.  Topped  Mexican  oils  of 
14  to  16  degrees  gravity  vaporize  at  approximately  175  degrees 
Fahrenheit  and  should  be  heated  to  about  170  degrees  Fahrenheit. 
The  lower  or  bottom  oils  of  11  to  12  degrees  gravity  vaporize  at 
from  205  to  210  degrees  and  should  be  heated  to  within  five  (5) 
degrees  of  the  vaporizing  point. 

California  oil  of  from  1.4  to  16  degrees  gravity  Baume  vaporizes 
at  230  degrees  Fahrenheit  and  should  be  heated  to  225  degrees 
Fahrenheit. 

Texas  oil  which  is  approximately  21  degrees  gravity  vaporizes 
at  142  degrees  Fahrenheit  and  should  be  heated  to  5  degrees  less 
than  the  vaporizing  point. 

Oklahoma  oil  vaporizes  at  approximately  154  degrees  Fahren- 
heit and  should  be  heated  to  149  degrees  Fahrenheit. 

We  are  often  asked:  "What  is  the  vaporizing  point  of  oil  of 
from  21  to  23  degrees  gravity?"  This  question  cannot  be  an- 
swered without  asking  the  question:  "From  what  field  is  this 
oil  taken?"  because  sometimes  you  get  a  mixed  oil  that  is  a  21 
degree  gravity  oil.  If  mixed  oil  it  would  be  50  per  cent.  Mexican 
oil  and  50  per  cent.  Pennsylvania  oil,  which  is  about  36  degrees 
gravity.  This  will  make  21  degrees  gravity  Baume  oil.  Some- 
times 23  degree  gravity  oil  is  made  by  mixing  40  per  cent,  of  the 
Mexican  oil  and  60  per  cent,  of  the  Pennsylvania  oil.  These  oils 
vaporize  at  approximately  140  degrees  Fahrenheit. 


220 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


I 
I 


I 


MODERN  FORGE  SHOP  PRACTICE  221 

There  are  a  great  number  of  oil  systems,  especially  in  manu- 
facturing plants  along  the  Atlantic  Coast,  which  will  have  to  be 
discarded  before  Mexican  oil  can  be  used  because  a  circulating 
system,  such  as  is  shown  (See  Fig.  188) ,  is  absolutely  essential.  The 
practice  of  having  one  or  two  large  mains  and  laterals  leading 
from  the  mains  to  the  furnaces,  and  having  almost  every  lateral 
a  "dead  end"  can  never  be  successful  when  burning  Mexican  oils. 
Often  heavy  oil  is  condemned  because  manufacturers  have  tried 
it  in  their  works  and  have,  owing  to  improperly  laid  oil  systems, 
failed.  The  failure  is  not  the  fault  of  the  gravity  of  the  oil,  but  is 
the  fault  of  an  imperfect  oil  system.  Again,  too,  it  is  very  essen- 
tial to  thoroughly  atomize  the  heavy  oil.  Without  having  the 
heavy  oil  thoroughly  atomized,  it  is  impossible  to  get  results,  both 
as  to  output  and  economy  in  fuel.  A  few  years  ago  we  were  burn- 
ing oil  of  approximately  36  degrees  gravity  Baume  which  could 
be  shoveled  into  a  furnace  with  a  small  shovel,  intermittently,  and 
would  heat  up  the  furnace.  You  could  even  take  two  pieces  of  pipe 
and  blow  the  oil  with  a  quantity  of  low  pressure  air  into  the  fur- 
nace and  get  fair  results,  or  results  equal  to  the  conception  of  the 
operator,  but  this  is  impossible  with  heavy  oil.  Furthermore  in 
the  burning  of  the  heavier  Mexican  oil  (which  has  an  asphaltum 
base)  it  is  very  necessary  to  use  low  pressure  on  the  oil  lines.  It 
should  not  exceed  12  pounds,  for  to  get  an  accurate  control  on  the 
flow  of  oil  to  the  burner  the  opening  in  the  oil-regulating  cock 
should  be  as  large  as  possible.  If  40  or  60  pounds  oil  pressure  is 
carried  upon  the  oil  system  it  is  difficult  to  keep  the  oil  pipes 
tight,  and  again,  too,  you  cannot  get  as  accurate  regulation  of  the 
flow  of  oil  to  the  burner  with  a  pressure  of  40  to  60  pounds  as 
with  a  pressure  of  10  or  12  pounds. 

Fig.  188  represents  a  modern  forge  shop  for  large  and  small  drop 
forgings.  Of  course  the  furnace  arrangements  and  forging 
machines  are  located  in  different  positions,  as  necessity  requires, 
but  all  the  furnaces  are  of  modern  construction  and  are  so  ar- 
ranged that  they  can  be  lifted  up  by  the  crane  and  placed  in  the 
masons'  room  for  repairs.  The  dividing  walls  separating  the 
rooms  are  approximately  twelve  (12)  feet  in  height,  but  not  too 
high  for  the  convenient  operation  of  the  cranes. 

The  first  room  of  the  works  is  the  stock  yard.  This  is  usually 
placed  outside  of  the  building,  and  may  be  covered  if  desired.  The 
next  (Room  2)  is  the  masons'  room,  where  all  the  various  types 


222 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


and  sizes  of  furnaces  are  repaired  or  kept  in  repair  by  the  mason, 
so  that  when  the  lining  or  arch  of  a  furnace  is  almost  ready  to 
drop,  the  night  shift  carries  that  furnace  into  the  masons'  room 
and  puts  a  newly  re-lined  furnace  in  place  of  the  one  having  had 
the  lining  burned  out,  and  then  starts  the  burner  so  that  the  fur- 
nace is  hot  the  following  morning.  By  this  method  the  output 
from  the  works  remains  at  maximum,  and  machines  which  cost 
many  thousands  of  dollars  are  not  idle.  Consequently  there  is  no 


IRON  FOR   CfiWFS 


:.v-.  - j       .         -J& , .  _  <p»-      -y- -»-       -»       -y  .    -y-      -»- s£ -y       -*«"> 

••vy^:*;-'*v*^^v^ 

££&&!&  .*.•>:£  v."  -rv.if  •'•  **:  v.  <••-•  *;?.:u :  *  S'^x^^L^r;*.^  ^-'^ 
&V&feV>-vSv~^ 


Fig.  189.     Heat-treating  furnace. 

capital  lying  idle  and  the  workmen  are  constantly  employed.  Room 
3  is  the  large  forging  department,  with  its  forge  machines  or 
piercing  machines.  Room  4  is  a  small  drop  forge  plant  in  which 
board  drops  or  steam  drop  hammers  are  used.  These  furnaces 
are  of  modern  construction,  usually  twin-type.  The  object  of  this 
is  obvious,  for  as  a  charge  is  put  into  one  section  of  the  furnace 
and  heated,  stock  is  being  drawn  and  forged  from  the  other.  Room 
5  is  the  heat-treating  department,  and  the  next  (Room  6)  is  the 
store  room  for  finished  forgings.  Room  7  is  the  boiler  room.  In 


MODERN  FORGE  SHOP  PRACTICE  223 

other  words,  the  metal  is  charged  at  one  end  of  the  plant  and 
reaches  the  store  room  as  finished  forgings,  after  being  carefully 
heat-treated  and  inspected.  In  the  construction  of  a  forge  shop, 
the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  find  the  proper  size  of  furnaces  required 
for  the  forgings.  Never  build  a  building  until  you  know  the  size 
of  the  furnaces  required  for  maximum  output. 

You  will  notice  that  there  is  a  circulating  oil  system  extending 
to  all  the  furnaces,  and  the  main  oil  pipe  also  passes  into  the  boiler 
room  (No.  7)  in  order  to  protect  the  power  plant  against  a  shut- 
down in  case  there  should  be  a  coal  strike  or  coal  shortage,  or  a 
car  shortage.  It  is  poor  business  and  poor  shop  practice  to  wait 
for  the  coal  strike  to  come  before  procuring  the  necessary  oil-burn- 
ing equipment  for  the  boilers.  This  should  always  be  on  hand  if 
oil  is  used  in  any  other  portion  of  the  works. 

A  heat-treating  furnace,  of  course,  should  be  of  modern  con- 
struction. We  usually  recommend  a  semi-muffle  type,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  190,  having  graduated  heat  ports,  the  heat  being  made  in  the 
lower  chamber  and  delivered  to  the  charging  chamber  of  the  fur- 
nace through  these  graduated  heat  ports.  It  is  distributed  in  such 
a  way  as  to  insure  an  even  distribution  of  heat  through  the  entire 
length  and  width  of  the  furnace.  We  have  found  this  can  only  be 
done  by  graduated  heat  ports  because  the  velocity  of  the  atomized 
fuel  from  the  burner  would  otherwise  make  the  opposite  end  of  the 
furnace  two  or  three  hundred  degrees  hotter  if  all  the  heat  ports 
were  made  of  the  same  proportions.  The  sulphur  contents  in  the 
Mexican  oil  often  run  as  high  as  3.85  per  cent.  It  therefore 
necessitates  the  use  of  a  canopy  so  that  all  the  obnoxious  gases  will 
be  removed  from  the  furnace  or  forge  shop  and  not  annoy  the 
workmen  nor  cause  them  to  become  dissatisfied. 

As  before  stated,  the  metallurgist  is  an  indispensable  man  about 
the  forge  plant,  for  upon  him  devolves  the  responsibility  of  making 
the  forgings  of  the  tensile  strength  demanded  by  the  users.  He 
is  a  competitor  of  the  iron  and  steel  foundry,  for  he  makes  the 
forged  product  of  the  highest  stability  and  at  the  same  time  pre- 
vents any  waste  of  metal  by  not  having  the  drop  forgings  larger 
than  is  absolutely  necessary.  Of  course  the  tensile  strength  of 
the  metal  is  increased  by  heat-treating,  and  it  is  this  man  who 
states  the  temperatures  to  the  furnace  operator  which  govern  him 
in  the  operation  of  the  furnace,  and  he  in  turn  maintains  the 
temperature  specified  by  the  metallurgist. 


224 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


The  die  maker  is  another  invaluable  man  and  is  a  co-worker 
with  the  metallurgist.  He  is  the  man  responsible  for  the  accuracy 
of  the  shape  and  size  of  the  drop  forgings.  He  should  be  a  man 
of  excellent  judgment  and  prevent  waste  of  metal. 

The  plant  superintendent  is  the  man  who  demands  a  maximum 
output  by  developing  team  work  in  all  the  departments,  and  en- 
deavors to  have  an  important  watchword  such  as:  "WE  LEAD 
ALL  SHOPS  IN  EFFICIENCY,  ECONOMY,  MAXIMUM  OUT- 
PUT OF  SUPERIOR  QUALITY."  The  successful  superintendent 


tfcrrott  ft  \ 

Fig.  190.     Ingot  heating  furnace. 


is  the  man  who  leads  and  never  follows,  a  "progressive"  in  the  true 
sense  of  that  word, — not  a  dreamer — obtaining  his  knowledge  and 
making  improvements  by  best  known  modern  practices.  He  should 
be  like  Columbus,  who  did  not  follow  the  ideas  and  ideals  of  other 
mariners  of  his  day,  but  had  a  greater  vision ;  otherwise  America 
never  would  have  been  discovered.  The  superintendent  who 
copies  the  furnace  construction  and  methods  of  other  companies 
cannot  lead;  he  must  necessarily  follow.  The  man  who  imitates 
is  never  a  very  dependable  official.  He  lacks  the  ability  of  an  ex- 


MODERN  FORGE  SHOP  PRACTICE  225 

ecutive.  Often  we  find  men  who  try  to  copy  the  methods  of  others. 
The  class  of  work,  the  construction  of  the  furnaces,  and  the 
method  of  operating  studied  in  another  plant  might  be  absolutely 
impractical  in  his  plant,  and  the  result  is  that  the  imitation  ends  in 
a  miserable  failure.  It  is  all  very  well  to  investigate  methods,  but 
it  is  not  always  wise  to  copy  them.  There  are  so  many  things  that 
enter  into  their  practical  use  that  one  must  be  very  guarded  in 
striving  to  emulate  the  exact  practice  of  another  works. 

I  am  well  aware  that  oil,  in  marine  service,  is  attractive  be- 
cause of  the  saving  effected  in  labor,  there  being  no  discharging 
of  ashes,  as  well  as  the  time  saved  in  charging  the  oil  fuel  on  the 
vessel  as  against  the  time  required  for  the  loading  of  coal,  and  also 
the  advantage  of  being  able  to  increase  the  speed  of  the  vessel,  the 
cleanliness,  and  improved  sanitary  conditions  as  well  as  the  fact 
that  this  fuel  elevates  the  mind  of  the  fireman  as  his  duty  does 
not  require  mere  brawn  but  brains  for  the  scientific  burning  of 
oil,  and  gives  him  the  feeling  that  though  he  is  housed  up  in  a 
hot  boiler  room  (much  cooler  because  of  the  use  of  oil  as  fuel) 
he  is  a  man  "for  a*  that."  In  tug  boat  service  oil  is  even  more 
attractive  as  a  fuel  than  it  is  for  ocean-going  vessels.  In  numerous 
tests  it  has  been  found  that  two  oil-fired  tug  boats  will  take  the 
place  of  three  tugs  of  the  same  size  and  power,  and  having  all 
other  conditions  the  same  as  when  using  coal  as  fuel.  Yet  we 
must  consider  the  use  and  the  many  advantages  of  this  fuel  for 
the  manufacturers  whose  products  must  furnish  at  least  a  part  of 
the  cargo  for  these  vessels  or  else  these  vessels  will  be  operated 
at  a  loss. 

For  example,  Fig.  190  shows  a  vertical  mid-section  view  of  an 
ingot-heating  furnace  operated  with  liquid  fuel.  The  large  ingot 
is  brought  to  a  forging  heat  in  five  (5)  hours*  time.  The  tempera- 
ture in  any  portion  of  this  furnace  will  not  (while  taking  a  12- 
foot  heat)  vary  more  than  20  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  weight 
of  that  portion  of  the  ingot  that  is  heated  is  thirty-six  (36)  tons. 
You  will  note  that  there  is  a  combustion  chamber  which  is  used 
to  consume  the  atomized  fuel  before  reaching  the  furnace  proper, 
and  it  is  so  located  as  to  insure  a  reverberation  of  the  heat  around 
the  ingot.  This  gives  an  even  distribution  of  heat,  which  is  absorbed 
uniformly  by  the  ingot,  and  the  result  is  that  the  ingot  does  not 
require  turning.  One  heater  can  operate  six  of  such  furnaces, 
and  only  eighty-two  (82)  gallons  of  oil  are  required  to  represent 


226 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


a  ton  of  coal,  as  before  mentioned.  Now,  compare  this  with  a 
coal-fired  ingot-heating  furnace,  heating  the  same  size  ingot  to 
the  same  temperature.  It  will  require  thirty  (30)  hours,  instead 


of  five  (5)  hours  to  heat  it,  and  owing  to  the  variation  of  the  tem- 
perature in  the  furnace  (it  is  usually  from  250  to  300  degrees 
hotter  at  the  top  of  the  furnace  just  past  the  bridge  wall,  than  at 


MODERN  FORGE  SHOP  PRACTICE  227 

the  base  of  the  furnace)  the  ingot  must  be  constantly  turned  in 
different  positions  so  that  the  upper  portion  of  the  ingot  will  not 
become  overheated.  It  requires  at  least  six  (6)  men  to  turn  and 
rebrick  around  the  ingot.  There  is  not  a  metallurgist  in  the  world 
who  will  not  agree  with  me  in  the  statement  that  any  furnace  in 
which  can  be  secured  an  even  distribution  of  heat  is  attractive, 
as  it  means  even  absorption  of  heat.  I  am  very  sure  that  all  forge- 
men,  also,  will  agree  with  me  that  forgings  should  be  heated  as 
evenly  as  possible  in  order  to  reduce  to  the  minimum  all  strains 
caused  by  uneven  temperatures  while  heating.  The  men  in  marine 
service  will  get  a  new  vision  also,  and  that  is, — in  the  forging 
industry — oil  is  even  more  attractive  than  in  marine  boiler  equip- 
ment on  ocean-going  vessels  because  a  great  deal  more  labor  can 
be  saved  in  a  forge  shop  than  in  marine  service,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  increased  output  and  superior  quality  of  the  product  from  the 
forge  shop.  In  times  of  peace  oil  should  be  used  only  upon  as  few 
naval  boats  as  possible.  It  should  be  used  on  some  vessels,  how- 
ever, owing  to  the  fact  that  men  should  be  trained  in  the  art  of 
operating  oil  burners.  It  would  be  well  to  have  the  boilers  of  the 
vessels  interchangeable  so  that  they  can  readily  be  changed  from 
coal  to  oil,  and  from  oil  back  to  coal,  for  in  a  case  of  war  oil  should 
be  used  if  possible  on  naval  vessels.  I  know  that  there  are  a  large 
number  of  merchant  vessels  now  being  equipped  with  oil  in  order 
to  save  labor  and  avoid  strikes.  I  believe  that  will  only  be  used 
temporarily,  but  I  am  equally  confident  that  the  nation  which  con- 
serves its  oil  and  gives  its  manufacturers  all  the  oil  they  require, 
will  be  the  manufacturing  nation  of  the  future. 

Continuous  furnaces  (Fig.  191),  have  either  an  inclined  or  de- 
clined hearth  and  are  the  most  economical  furnaces  in  use  because 
with  them  you  retain  as  much  of  the  waste  heat  as  is  possible. 
Sometimes  waste  heat  is  carried  to  a  boiler,  while  in  other  types  of 
furnaces  the  waste  heat  is  vented  without  the  use  of  the  stack.  The 
latter  form  is  preferable. 

In  drop  forge  practice  the  twin-type  furnace  as  shown  in  Fig.  192 
is  always  preferable  to  a  furnace  having  only  a  single  charging 
opening  owing  to  the  fact  that  you  will  get  a  more  even  heat  on 
blanks  or  small  billets  charged,  because  often  in  actual  practice 
with  a  single  type  furnace  there  is  but  a  space  of  about  the  width 
of  an  ingot  between  the  last  blank  charged  and  the  one  about  to 
be  drawn  from  the  furnace.  This  practice  produces  an  uneven 


228 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


MODERN  FORGE  SHOP  PRACTICE 


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230         .  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

temperature  on  the  next  blank  that  is  to  be  drawn  because  the  cold 
blank  absorbs  the  heat  more  rapidly  than  the  one  that  is  almost 
the  temperature  required  for  forging,  and  this  results  in  the  un- 
even heating  of  the  forging  next  to  be  drawn  from  the  furnace. 
We  have  never  known  of  any  firm  which,  having  used  the  twin- 
type  furnace,  has  returned  to  the  single  opening  type  of  furnace. 
Blanks  are  charged  into  one  of  the  openings  of  the  twin-type  fur- 
nace and  are  brought  to  heat  while  the  blanks  of  the  other  section 
of  the  twin-type  furnace  are  being  drawn  and  forged.  This  type 
of  furnace  occupies  more  room,  but  the  output  is  greater  and  more 
even  heats  are  obtained,  which  of  course  pleases  the  forgeman. 

In  the  construction  of  furnaces  always  use  the  best  non-expand- 
ing fire  brick  procurable  that  will  withstand  the  temperature  your 
work  requires,  remembering  that  it  costs  just  as  much  to  build  or 
reline  a  furnace  using  poor  brick  as  good  brick,  and  some  fire 
brick  is  not  worth  putting  in  at  all. 

Modern  heat  deflectors  should  be  provided  with  which  to  de- 
flect the  heat  from  the  furnace  operator.  This  should  be  done  in 
order  to  prevent  the  workman  from  being  overheated  and  to  en- 
able the  operator  to  obtain  the  maximum  output  with  minimum 
fatigue. 

Every  furnace  should  be  of  the  proportions  required  for  the 
maximum  output.  It  should  be  modern  in  every  detail  and  should 
be  so  constructed  that  the  upkeep  of  the  furnaces  will  be  reduced 
to  the  minimum.  Construction  along  scientific  lines  is  absolutely 
essential  in  order  to  get  the  maximum  output,  maintain  the  re- 
quired temperature  and  an  even  distribution  of  heat.  This  is 
essential  and  must  always  be  considered  by  the  engineer  designing 
the  furnaces.  A  modern  furnace  is  shown  in  Fig.  193. 

Some  firms  desire  to  place  their  furnaces  on  concrete  foundations 
such  as  are  shown  in  Fig.  194.  The  furnace  is  made  of  channel 
iron  and  can  be  removed  to  the  mason's  room  by  the  night  force 
when  repairs  on  the  lining  are  necessary. 

The  furnace  shown  in  Fig.  196  was  originally  fired  with  coal  but 
it  has  been  changed  to  oil-fired.  The  waste  heat  from  this  furnace 
passes  up  through  the  elements  of  the  boiler  and  then  out  through 
the  stack. 

In  Fig.  198  we  have  a  furnace  serving  two  bolt  headers.  (Note 
the  absence  of  flame  from  the  charging  openings.)  A  furnace  of 
this  type  is  often  placed  between  a  bolt  header  and  a  rivet  making 


MODERN  FORGE  SHOP  PRACTICE 


231 


Fig.  194.     Portable  forge  furnace. 


232 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


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MODERN  FORGE  SHOP  PRACTICE 


233 


234 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


Fig.  197.     Forge  in  which  oil  is  used  exclusively  as  fuel. 


MODERN  FORGE  SHOP  PRACTICE 


235 


machine.  In  either  case,  it  will  serve  both  machines  to  the  limit  of 
the  physical  endurance  of  the  operators.  If  desired  for  rivet  heat- 
ing in  larger  quantities,  various  sizes  can  be  heated  at  one  time. 

A  large  coal-fired  forging  furnace  is  changed  to  oil  fuel  by  simply 
building  a  combustion  chamber  of  proper  form  and  proportions  in 
the  former  fire-box  and  placing  a  burner  at  the  end  of  this  combus- 
tion chamber.  With  this  slight  change  the  operator  has  now  an  oil 
furnace  wherein  the  fire  is  under  perfect  control  and  from  which  he 
obtains  a  maximum  quantity  of  output  of  superior  quality.  When 
a  furnace  of  this  type  (Fig.  199)  is  changed  from  coal  to  oil,  the 
operator  almost  invariably  wishes  to  operate  the  furnace  just  the 
same  as  when  burning  coal.  That  is,  by  having  an  abundance  of 


Fig.  198.     Furnace  serving  two  bolt  headers. 

flame  (about  2  ft.  high)  passing  out  of  the  door  opening.  You 
might  thus  run  an  oil-fired  furnace  for  days  without  getting  a  weld- 
ing heat,  but  when  the  oil  is  regulated  so  that  only  a  greenish  haze 
about  6  in.  long  passes  out  of  the  door,  C02  is  effected  and  in  a  few 
moments  in  the  interior  of  the  furnace  can  be  seen  a  glow  which 
insures  a  welding  heat,  thereby  giving  not  only  the  highest  efficiency 
from  the  fuel  but  also  the  greatest  output  from  the  furnace. 

For  dressing  drills  and  other  high  speed  steel  tools  it  is  convenient 
to  have  a  furnace  of  the  type  shown  in  Fig.  200.  This  furnace  is 
also  valuable  for  a  wide  range  of  forging  in  smith  shops,  etc.  Placed 


236 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


between  two  bolt  heaters,  a  furnace  of  this  type  with  charging 
opening  on  each  side,  will  serve  both  machines  to  the  limit  of  the 
men's  ability  to  handle  the  blanks.  A  furnace  with  two  charging 
openings  will  produce  double  the  output  of  the  same  size  furnace 
with  only  one  opening,  with  increase  in  oil  consumption  of  less  than 
30  per  cent. 

The  man  or  firm  who  intends  to  continue  in  business  and  com- 
pete with  modern  methods  must  of  necessity  use  liquid  fuel  for 
the  manufacture  of  drop  forgings  as  with  this  can  be  produced  the 


Fig.  199.     Forging  furnace  changed  from  coal  to  oil-fired. 

maximum  quantity  of  output  of  superior  quality  in  minimum  time. 
Anyone  who  has  used  oil  as  fuel  quickly  notices  the  softness  of  the 
heat.  That  is,  oil  produces  a  penetrating  heat  so  that  the  metal  is 
thoroughly  heated  throughout  its  entirety,  while  that  heated  with 
coal,  coke  or  gas  is  subjected  to  an  abrasive  heat  so  that  the  out- 
side of  the  blank  or  forging  is  heated  much  hotter  than  the  center. 
Because  of  the  penetrating  heat  produced  by  liquid  fuel,  oil  heated 


MODERN  FORGE  SHOP  PRACTICE 


2S7 


blanks  and  f orgings  are  forged  quicker,  with  less  power,  and  there 
is  also  a  saving  on  the  dies.  Furnaces  (Fig.  201)  for  this  purpose 
should  be  of  such  design  that  the  heat  will  be  evenly  distributed 
throughout  the  charging  zone  and  a  proper  size  combustion  chamber 
used  to  reduce  the  oxidization  of  the  metal  to  the  minimum. 

A  12-in.  billet  charged  into  the  furnace  shown  in  Fig.  202,  after 


Fig.  200.  Furnace  for  heating  high  speed  steel,  etc.  A — Oil 
burner.  B — Oil  regulating  cock.  C — Air  pipe.  D — Oil 
pipe.  E — Deflection  blast  pipe.  F. — Auxiliary  blast. 

it  has  been  shut  down  over  night  can  be  brought  to  a  forging  heat 
in  45  minutes.  A  10-in.  square  ingot  or  billet  can  then  be  brought 
to  a  forging  heat  in  32  minutes.  This  furnace  is  used  for  annealing, 
tempering,  heating,  forging  and  welding  large  billets,  shafts,  etc. 
As  there  are  two  charging  openings  opposite  one  another,  heats  can 
be  taken  on  any  portion  of  long  shafts  or  billets.  In  many  plants 


238 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


this  furnace  is  operated  with  compressed  air  as  long  as  that  is 
available.  When  the  air  is  needed  for  pneumatic  tools,  etc.,  by  sim- 
ply opening  a  by-pass  valve,  steam  at  boiler  pressure  is  used  to 
atomize  the  fuel.  Either  steam  or  volume  air  (at  from  3  to  5  oz. 
pressure)  is  used  through  the  deflection  blast  in  front  of  the  charg- 
ing opening  to  deflect  the  heat  from  the  operator  and  retain  it  in 
the  furnace. 

In  Fig.  203  we  have  an  8  ft.  x  24  ft.  furnace  used  for  years  in 


Fig.  201.     Small  drop  forging  furnace. 


rolling  mills  or  large  blacksmith  shops,  where  they  have  to  use  all 
kinds  of  scrap  iron  which  must  be  brought  up  to  a  welding  heat 
before  passing  through  the  rolls  or  forged  under  the  steam  hammer. 
Only  one  burner  is  used,  but  this,  giving  a  fan-shaped  flame  and 
used  in  conjunction  with  a  combustion  chamber  of  proper  size, 
causes  an  even  distribution  of  heat  throughout  the  entire  length  and 
width  of  the  furnace.  The  waste  gases,  passing  up  through  a  350 
H.  P.  vertical  water-tube  boiler,  are  utilized  for  the  generation  of 
steam. 


MODERN  FORGE  SHOP  PRACTICE 


239 


Fig.  202.     Billet  heating  furnace. 


240 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


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MODERN  FORGE  SHOP  PRACTICE 


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242  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

In  many  plants  there  is  great  need  for  a  furnace  designed  for 
dressing  and  tempering  high  speed  tools  (60  carbon  upwards),  such 
as  lathe,  planer,  shaper,  slotters,  chisels,  flats,  capes,  etc.  (Fig. 
205.) 

Instead  of  the  blacksmith  heating  but  one  chisel  at  a  time  as  is 
the  case  while  using  a  coal  forge,  with  this  furnace  seven  chisels 


Fig.  205.     Small  tool  dressing  furnace. 


can  be  heated  at  once  without  injury  to  the  metal.  The  heat  being 
held  at  the  required  temperature  constantly,  a  much  superior  tool  is 
produced  than  could  possibly  be  made  by  the  use  of  coal  or  coke. 
A  forging  heat  can  be  obtained  eight  minutes  after  starting  the 
cold  furnace  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  speak  of  the  output  as  that  is 
up  to  the  endurance  of  the  man  operating  the  furnace.  There  is  no 
waste  of  fuel  while  the  furnace  is  not  in  use. 


Chapter  XV 

BOILER   MANUFACTURERS'  FURNACE 
EQUIPMENT 


Fig.  208.    Plate  heating  furnace,  charging  space  18  ft.  x  30  ft. 

Ordinarily  only  one  burner  should  be  installed  in  the  average 
plate  heating  furnace  if  you  want  a  good  even  heat,  but  this  should 
be  a  burner  giving  a  flat  fan-shaped  flame,  which  in  conjunction 
with  a  combustion  chamber  of  adequate  proportions,  distributes 
a  blanket  of  flame  and  heat  evenly  throughout  the  entire  length 
and  width  of  the  furnace.  Sometimes,  however,  it  is  advantageous 
to  have  a  furnace  in  which  plates  of  various  lengths  can  be  heated. 
That  shown  in  Fig.  209  has  two  bag-walls  and  for  short  heats  only 

243 


244 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


the  first  burner  is  operated.  For  longer  heats  the  first  bag  wall  is 
removed  and  two  burners  used.  For  full  length  heats  both  bag- 
walls  are  removed  and  all  three  burners  operated. 

In  the  furnace  shown  in  Fig.  213,  the  bars  are  charged  in  at 
one  end  of  the  furnace  and  drawn  out  at  the  other  end.  For  small 
rivets,  some  people  prefer  to  cut  the  bars  into  lengths  of  eight  or 
nine  feet.  The  length  of  furnaces  of  this  type  will  vary  according 
to  the  sizes  of  the  rivets  to  be  made  and  the  length  of  the  bars  to 
be  heated  as  blanks  for  the  rivets. 

For  a  wide  range  of  small  work  in  a  small  shop,  the  little  fur- 
nace shown  in  Fig.  214  is  ideal.  For  instance,  in  many  plants  one 


&  line  Vie**. 


Fig.  209.     Long  plate  heating  furnace  with  two  bag  walls. 


of  these  little  furnaces  is  used  for  forging,  rivet  heating,  annealing, 
hardening  dies,  dressing  high  speed  steel  tools,  and  by  placing  a 
muffle  in  the  charging  space  it  is  used  as  a  muffle  annealing  and 
tempering  furnace.  It  heats  rivets  uniformly  and  on  2%  gallons  of 
oil  per  hour  is  equal  to  four  coal  forges,  the  maximum  capacity 
being  eight  thousand  %-in.  x  3-in.  rivets  per  day  (ten  hours). 
Either  compressed  air  or  dry  steam  can  be  used  to  atomize  the 
fuel.  The  burners  on  about  60%  of  these  furnaces  are  operated 
with  steam. 

While  a  small  furnace  (Fig.  214)  is  ideal  for  heating  small  rivets, 
larger  rivets  should  be  heated  in  a  larger  furnace,  preferably  of 
the  twin  charging  type  (Fig.  215).  Some  rivets  can  in  this  type 
of  furnace  be  shoveled  in  through  one  of  the  openings  and  while 


BOILER  MANUFACTURERS'  FURNACE  EQUIPMENT  245 

that  batch  of  rivets  is  being  heated,  others  (which  had  been  previ- 
ously charged)  are  being  withdrawn  from  the  other  opening.  In 
using  a  bull  riveter  it  is  necessary  to  heat  the  rivets  quickly  and  at 
the  same  time  reduce  the  scale  as  much  as  possible.  It  is  therefore 
essential  to  have  a  combustion  chamber  on  the  furnace  so  as  to 
reduce  the  oxidization  of  the  metal  to  the  minimum. 


Fig.  210.     Plate  heating  furnace,  charging   space  8  ft.  x  9  ft. 


Fig.  216.  A  self-contained  portable  outfit  with  20  gallon  oil  tank, 
which  can  readily  be  moved  around  from  place  to  place  and  which 
is  used  for  heating  rivets  as  well  as  for  forging,  tool  dressing,  etc. 
Very  convenient  for  small  work  in  shops  not  equipped  with  the  regu- 
lar oil  system  as  well  as  for  work  where  portable  outfit  is  necessary. 
Compressed  air  at  pneumatic  tool  pressure  is  used  to  operate  this 
outfit.  That  is,  the  full  pressure  is  used  through  the  burner  to 
atomize  the  fuel  and  distribute  the  heat,  and  through  the  deflection 
blast  in  front  of  the  charging  opening  to  deflect  the  heat  from  the 
operator  and  to  retain  it  in  the  furnace,  but  the  air  used  on  the  tank 


246 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


BOILER  MANUFACTURERS'  FURNACE  EQUIPMENT  247 

to  force  the  oil  to  the  burner  is  reduced  from  pneumatic  tool  pres- 
sure to  12  Ibs.  as  it  passes  through  a  pressure  reducing  valve.  This 
device  is  most  essential  to  prevent  excessive  pressure  on  the  oil  tank 
and  safeguard  human  life. 


Fie   212      Flange  furnace,  twin  door  type,  charging  space  14  ft.  wide  by 

20  ft.  long, 


Angle  heating  furnaces  are  needed  in  boiler  works,  shipyards,  etc. 
That  shown  (Figs.  217,  218,  219  and  220)  is  so  constructed  that  you 
only  operate  as  many  burners  as  are  actually  required.  In  this 


248 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


BOILER  MANUFACTURERS'  FURNACE  EQUIPMENT  249 

particular  furnace  heats  varying  in  length  from  six  to  sixty-seven 
feet  can  be  taken,  but  of  course  the  furnace  could  have  been  con- 
structed for  taking  heats  one  hundred  feet  long  equally  as  well  if  de- 
sired. No  stack  is  used  upon  this  type  of  furnace. 

Until  quite   recently  wood  was  used  for  firing  up   boilers   in 
boiler  shops  for  testing  purposes,  or  in  locomotive  works  for  rais- 


Fig.  214.     Small  forging  furnace. 


ing  steam  to  set  pops  when  the  locomotive  is  completed.  By  us- 
ing oil  instead  of  wood  for  this  purpose  there  is  50  per  cent,  saving 
in  time  and  cost.  With  an  apparatus  such  as  shown  in  operation 
in  Fig.  221  the  operator  has  the  fire  under  perfect  control,  and  one 
man  can  look  after  5  or  6  furnaces  at  a  time.  For  the  largest 
Mogul  engine  we  use  either  one  furnace,  such  as  shown  in  Fig.  222 
which  gives  a  fan-shaped  incandescent  flame  18  inches  to  10  feet 


250 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL   ' 


BOILER  MANUFACTURERS'  FURNACE  EQUIPMENT  251 

in  length  at  a  point  6  feet  from  the  furnace,  the  flame  being  4  feet 
wide,  or  two  of  the  smaller  portable  furnaces  shown  in  Fig.  223, 
which  give  a  round  incandescent  flame  1  foot  long,  3  inches  in  dia- 
meter to  6  feet  long  and  about  10  inches  in  diameter.  For  a 
smaller  size  locomotive  ordinarily  one  of  the  furnaces  shown  in 
Fig.  223  is  used. 

These  furnaces  are  also  used  for  a  multitude  of  other  purposes 


Fig.    216.     Portable,    self-contained    outfit    for 
rivet  heating,  etc. 

such  as  setting  up  corners  of  fire-box  sheets  to  mud-rings;  flang- 
ing, laying  on  patches,  heating  crown  sheets,  heating  and  welding 
band  rings;  bending  pipe  up  to  16-inch  diameter  without  sand 
filling;  (straight  pipe  is  laid  on  bending  table  with  a  shaper  ar- 
ranged to  suit  curve;  one  end  of  pipe  is  clamped,  and  pipe  bent 


252 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


BOILER  MANUFACTURERS'  FURNACE  EQUIPMENT  253 


I? 

03 
O 


'! 


254 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


after  heat  is  applied  to  outside  of  bend,  thus  stretching  metal  on 
the  outside,  without  buckling  inside  of  bend)  ;  straightening  bent 
frames  after  a  wreck,  etc.,  etc. 

Referring  to  Fig.  223  you  will  note  that  compressed  air  (pneu- 
matic tool  pressure)  is  used  to  operate  this  equipment.  The  full 
pressure  is  used  through  the  burner  to  atomize  the  fuel  and  dis- 
tribute the  heat,  but  the  air  used  to  force  the  fuel  from  the  tank 


Fig.  219.  End  view  of  angle  heating 
furnace,  showing  the  location  of 
the  sixth  burner. 


Fig.    220.     Door    end    view    of    angle    heating 
furnace. 


to  burner  passes  through  a  reducing  valve  which  reduces  it  from 
pneumatic  tool  pressure  to  10  pounds  on  the  tank.  To  safeguard 
human  life  this  pressure  reducer  is  most  essential. 

The  welding  of  the  rudder  of  the  "Brutus"  in  1905  was  considered 
a  remarkable  achievement  at  that  time,  for  it  was  the  first  time  in 
the  history  of  any  navy  yard  or  private  ship  yard  that  a  weld  had 


BOILER  MANUFACTURERS'  FURNACE  EQUIPMENT  255 

been  successfully  made  under  these  conditions,  using  oil  as  fuel. 
The  feat  was  accomplished  with  the  author's  equipment.  It  is  pos- 
sible with  oil  as  fuel  to  make  a  better  weld  than  can  be  made  with 
any  other  fuel,  for  the  metal  is  made  more  homogeneous. 


Fig.  221.  Portable  furnace,  rest- 
ing in  fire  door  opening,  firing 
up  a  locomotive  boiler. 


Fig.    222.      Portable    furnace 
shown   in  operation  in   Fig.  221. 


Fig.     223.     Smaller    portable    furnace 
with  hose  and  tank  on  truck. 


There  are  three  ways  of  welding  locomotive  frames.  Thermit 
and  oxy-acetylene  are  efficient  but  very  costly,  while  with  oil  in 
about  40  minutes  with  a  few  gallons  of  oil  a  perfect  weld  is  made. 


256 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


c 

I 

g  i 
1  1 

OJ 


„  o 
O  £ 


I 


c 
<u  .3 


— 
2 

5JD 

I 
•S 


bfl 


BOILER  MANUFACTURERS'  FURNACE  EQUIPMENT  257 


1.  A — The  insert  or 
Dutchman. 


2.  Furnace   in   opera- 
tion. 


3.  Note  the  constancy 
of  heat  and  perfect 
combustion. 


4.  A— The  perfect 
weld. 


Fig.  225.     The  welding  of  a  locomotive  frame  with  a  small  portable 

furnace. 


Fig.    226.     The     little  giant  which  did  the  trick  shown  in  Fig.   225 


258  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

Of  course  the  expense  entailed  for  labor  in  making  the  weld  is 
the  same  in  either  case.  Complete  story  of  perfect  weld  with  oil 
is  shown  in  Figs.  225  and  226. 

The  oil  furnace  shown  in  Fig.  226  is  operated  with  a  small  quan- 


Fig.  227.     Portable  furnace  brazing  the  exhaust  pipe  of  an  automobile 

engine. 

tity  of  compressed  air,  and  may  be  used  for  various  other  pur- 
poses such  as  flanging,  laying  on  patches  and  laps,  heating  crown 
sheets,  firing  up  and  testing  boilers  in  boiler  shops ;  brazing  and 
filling  castings,  ladle  heating,  melting  or  keeping  metals  hot  in 
foundries;  brazing,  annealing  and  heating  of  all  kinds  in  copper 


BOILER  MANUFACTURERS'  FURNACE  EQUIPMENT  259 

shops;  removing  propeller  wheels,  straightening  and  bending  on 
board  vessel  rudder  frames,  stern  posts,  keel,  etc.,  pipe  bending, 
etc.;  melting  metals  in  small  quantities  for  laboratory  tests,  etc., 
heating  rails  for  bending,  etc. 

Fig.  227.  This  furnace  is  mounted  on  a  5  ft.  standard  so  that 
the  apparatus  can  be  adjusted  to  any  height  or  angle  needed  for  all 
kinds  of  heating  purposes  where  it  is  desired  to  heat  a  small  portion 
of  the  metal.  The  furnace  may  be  removed  from  the  stand  and  used 


Fig.  228.     A  hand  torch  or  very  small  portable  furnace. 


as  a  blow  pipe  for  straightening  or  setting  up  work  difficult  of 
access.  The  tiny  furnace  is  lined  with  refractory  material.  This 
becomes  heated  lily-white  and  insures  a  constant  steady  flame  even 
when  the  oil  supply  is  cut  very  low.  With  apparatus  having  a 
metal  combustion  chamber  not  lined  with  refractory  material  there 
is  always  more  or  less  difficulty  with  the  fire  not  burning  steadily. 
The  refractory  material  also  aids  combustion  and  prevents  oil  being 
thrown  out  with  the  flame. 

Hand  Torches  (Fig.  228),  made  in  various  sizes,  are  very  eco- 
nomical and  efficient  for  all  classes  of  light  heating  purposes,  such 


260 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


Fig.  229.     Furnace  for  pipe  bending,  brazing,  etc. 


Fig.  230.     Flue  welding  furnace. 


BOILER  MANUFACTURERS'  FURNACE  EQUIPMENT  261 

as  skin-drying  moulds,  lighting  cupolas,  heating  tires,  light  brazing, 
burning  paint  off  steel  cars,  etc. 

With  the  furnace  shown  in  Fig.  229  a  five-inch  copper  pipe  can 
be  brazed  in  four  minutes,  starting  with  a  cold  furnace.  This  fur- 
nace is  designed  for  pipe  bending  and  brazing,  but  it  is  not  advisable 
to  use  it  for  welding. 

Fig.  230.  A  modern  flue  welding  furnace,  the  capacity  of  which 
is  60  welds  of  safe  ends  on  2-in.  or  21/4-in.  locomotive  boiler  tubes 
per  hour,  while  with  a  coal  forge  16  flues  per  hour  is  considered 


Fig.   231.     Pipe  welding  furnace. 


good  practice.  With  either  fuel  the  blacksmith  requires  two  helpers, 
the  difference  being  that  with  coal  a  blacksmith  has  to  work  much 
harder  than  his  two  helpers  do,  for  he  must  keep  turning  the  flue 
or  he  will  burn  a  hole  in  it,  and  he  must  constantly  be  putting  on 
borax  and  sand  or  other  welding  compounds,  whereas  in  this  mod- 
ern oil  furnace  his  helpers  can  charge  and  remove  the  flues,  no 
welding  compounds  being  necessary.  Three  flues  (instead  of  only 
one)  are  charged  at  a  time.  Oil  welded  flues  are  not  water-tested 
as  the  welds  are  all  perfect,  there  being  no  corrosion  or  oxidation 
of  the  metal.  No  time  lost  while  waiting  to  renew  or  coke  the  fire. 


262 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


bJO 


BOILER  MANUFACTURERS'  FURNACE  EQUIPMENT  263 

58  gallons  of  oil  are  equivalent  to  a  ton  of  good  bituminous  coal  in 
this  class  of  service.  When  a  smith,  who  all  his  life  has  been  using 
coal  for  this  class  of  work,  discovers  these  facts,  he  concludes  that 
oil  is  the  marvel  of  the  20th  century.  A  shop  still  using  coal  for 
this  class  of  work  is  hopelessly  behind  the  times  and  cannot  expect 
to  compete  with  its  more  modern  neighbors.  Flue  welding  fur- 
naces are  usually  supplied  with  extra  slide  plates  so  that  for  weld- 
ing larger  size  flues,  the  plates  with  the  small  openings  can  be  re- 
moved, the  plates  for  larger  size  flues  put  on  and  the  openings  in 
the  brickwork  cut  to  the  required  size.  In  handling  6-in.  super- 
heater flues  ordinarily  only  two  flues  are  welded  at  a  time. 

The  furnace  shown  in  Fig.  231  is  operated  with  one  burner  and 
used  for  pipe  welding,  such  as  welding  a  flange  on  a  20-inch  pipe, 
for  van-stoning,  etc. 

The  ends  of  the  furnace  shown  in  Fig.  232  can  be  removed  so 
that  a  pipe  of  any  length  may  be  heated.  This  furnace  is  used  also 
for  annealing  large  pipe  and  for  bending  (after  the  pipes  have  been 
filled  with  sand) . 


Chapter  XVI 
COPPER  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 

A  copper  refining  furnace  must  be  so  equipped  that  the  opera- 
tor has  the  fire  under  perfect  control  at  all  times.  That  is,  at 
times  a  reducing  flame  is  necessary,  while  at  other  times  an  oxi- 
dizing flame  is  required.  Only  one  burner  should  be  used  in  a 
120-ton  furnace,  as  shown  in  accompanying  cut,  but  this  must 
spread  a  blanket  of  flame  over  the  entire  surface  of  the  bath  or 
charging  space,  which  in  this  case  is  14  feet  wide  by  26  feet  long. 
I  am  aware  that  attempts  have  been  made  to  use  a  large  number 
of  burners,  installed  along  the  sides  of  the  furnace,  with  operating 
valves  for  each  burner,  but  the  operation  of  the  furnace  under 
these  conditions  was  so  complicated  the  operator  could  not  ac- 
curately regulate  the  flame,  and  if,  during  the  refining  process, 
the  metal  is  oxidized,  it  becomes  porous  and  when  rolled  into  cop- 
per wire  the  porousness  ruins  the  conductivity  of  the  wire.  With 
the  one  burner  a  small  quantity  of  superheated  steam  or  com- 
pressed air  is  used  to  atomize  the  fuel  and  distribute  the  heat  in 
the  furnace,  but  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  the  air  necessary 
for  combustion  is  admitted  through  the  volume  air  nozzle  under 
the  burner. 

At  the  end  of  the  furnace  you  will  note  the  door  used  during 
the  refining  process  for  poling  the  charge  (agitating  the  molten 
metal  with  a  long  wooden  pole) .  In  this  door  is  a  peep-hole  through 
which  the  burner  can  be  plainly  seen  at  the  opposite  end  of  the 
furnace  and  all  the  operating  valves  are  so  placed  that  the  opera- 
tor, while  viewing  the  burner,  can  quickly  and  accurately  adjust 
the  air  and  oil  supply  according  to  the  requirements  for  the  prop- 
er treatment  of  the  metal. 

Copper  electrodes  are  charged  into  the  refining  furnace  (Fig. 
236)  90%  pure  and  have  to  leave  it  at  99.60%  or  practically  pure 
copper.  After  the  metal  has  become  molten,  it  is  necessary  to 
greenpole  the  charge  until  the  state  of  purity  required  is  obtained. 
During  this  time  it  is  necessary  to  use  an  oxidizing  flame,  as  an 
excess  of  oxygen  is  required  in  the  furnace  during  this  process ;  but 

264 


COPPER  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


265 


266 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


after  having  obtained 
the  proper  refinement, 
it  is  necessary  to  at 
once  change  the  flame 
of  the  burner  from  an 
oxidizing  to  a  neutral 
flame,  as  otherwise  it 
would  oxidize  the 
charge.  After  reach- 
ing the  required  state 
of  refinement,  if  you 
were  to  run  an  oxidiz- 
ing flame  for  twenty 
minutes  in  this  fur- 
nace, the  result  would 
be  that  when  the  cop- 
per taken  from  this 
furnace  is  drawn  into 
wire,  it  would  be  full 
of  miniature  openings 
which  would  ruin  its 
conductivity  for  elec- 
trical purposes.  The 
capacity  of  this  fur- 
nace is  250  tons  of 
metal.  This  furnace  is 
equipped  with  only  one 
burner  and  only  one 
burner  should  be  used, 
because  you  cannot  ob- 
tain the  desired  re- 
sults with  more  than 
one  burner  in  this  type 
of  furnace.  It  is,  how- 
ever, an  engineering 
feat  to  design  a  com- 
bustion chamber  of 
adequate  proportions 
to  give  the  desired 
results. 


COPPER  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


267 


268  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

The  continuous  furnace  used  for  copper  matting  (Fig.  237)  has 
a  bath  nineteen  feet  wide,  one  hundred  thirty-eight  feet  long.  Only 
one  burner  is  required,  but  this  must  be  of  adequate  capacity  to 
throw  a  flame  which  will  cover  the  entire  bath.  Steam  or  com- 
pressed air  is  used  through  the  burner  for  atomizing  purposes  and 
also  volume  air  at  three-ounce  pressure  is  used  through  the  volume 
air  nozzle  under  the  burner  to  aid  the  combustion  of  the  atomized 
fuel.  The  copper  is  tapped  out  through  the  landers  and  the  slag  is 
hoed  out  of  the  slag  door  and  hauled  to  the  dump  by  a  locomotive. 


Chapter   XVII 
ENAMELING    EQUIPMENT 

There  are  two  (2)  forms  of  enameling  furnaces,  but  these  are 
of  various  sizes  and  types.  In  some  classes  of  work  it  is  absolutely 
essential  to  use  the  muffle  type,  such  as  shown  in  Fig.  240. 

The  direct-fired  type  of  furnace  is  shown  in  Fig.  241  and  242. 
This  furnace  is  heated  to  the  required  temperature,  the  burner 
shut  off,  the  charging  door  raised  and  the  charge  placed  in  the  fur- 


Fig.  240.     Muffle  furnace  for  baking  enamel,  annealing,  etc. 


nace  for  from  six  to  eight  minutes,  or  until  the  enamel  is  baked  on 
to  the  ware,  after  which  the  charge  is  withdrawn  and  the  burner 
again  operated  to  bring  the  furnace  up  to  the  required  heat  for  the 
second  charge.  As  soon  as  a  charge  is  baked,  it  is  removed  from  the 
car  or  rack,  and  the  rack  refilled.  Thus  the  furnace  is  operated 
continuously  all  the  day. 

Guessing  at  the  temperature  of  an  enameling  oven  is  simply  a 
waste  of  time,  fuel  and  material.  If  a  recording  pyrometer  is  a 
necessity  on  a  heat-treatment  furnace,  certainly  it  is  equally  as 
essential  to  use  a  recording  heat  gauge  on  these  ovens  so  that  the 
actual  temperature  may  be  a  matter  of  daily  record. 

269 


270 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


ENAMELING  EQUIPMENT 


271 


Chapter  XVIII 
CHEMICAL  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 

Chemical  furnaces  are  so  varied  that  each  form  of  furnace  re- 
quires a  special  design.  In  the  majority  of  cases  we  use  a  tan- 
gential flame  in  order  to  get  even  distribution  of  heat  under  the 
kettle.  The  cylindrical  combustion  chamber  must  be  of  propor- 


Fig.  245.     Chemical  furnace  equipment. 

272 


CHEMICAL  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


273 


(.ft    5    3  -  - 

$11 

hMlli 


274 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


CHEMICAL  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


275 


276 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


\ 


6-7  "- 


Fig.  249.     Rosin  still.     View  showing  location  of  burner. 


CHEMICAL  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


277 


&JO 


278 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


CHEMICAL  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


279 


280 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


CHEMICAL  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


281 


Fig.  254,    Oil  heating  furnace,  the  hot  oil  being  used  to  heat  jacketed  stills  contain- 
ing very  inflammable  chemicals. 


282  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

tionate  size,  and  the  top  of  this  cylindrical  combustion  chamber 
must  also  be  a  certain  distance  from  the  bottom  of  the  kettle.  These 
dimensions  vary  in  proportion  to  the  temperature  required  in  the 
kettle  and  the  quantity  of  chemicals  charged.  The  cuts  following 
show  several  different  types. 

Sometimes  it  is  necessary  in  the  manufacture  of  chemicals  of 
a  very  inflammable  nature  to  heat  the  stills  with  oil  to  a  tempera- 
ture of  say  650  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  heating  furnace  is  or- 
dinarily placed  outside  of  the  building,  and  the  stills  are  placed 
in  the  chemical  room;  the  oil  being  distributed  around  the  stills 
maintains  the  required  temperature  in  the  still  for  the  length  of 
time  desired.  This  form  of  furnace  is  shown  in  Fig.  254. 


Chapter  XIX 
CERAMIC  EQUIPMENT 

Oil  is  the  most  modern  fuel  for  brick  kilns,  baking  terra-cotta, 
pottery,  etc. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  temperatures  can  be  controlled  so  ac- 
curately; much  more  perfectly  than  with  any  other  fuel.  Before 


Fig.  257.     Ordinary  down-draft  bee-hive  kiln,  requiring  a  burner  for  each  eye. 

283 


284 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


high  temperatures  can  be  attained  and  maintained  it  is  necessary 
to  run  a  very  light  fire  until  all 
the  moisture  (what  is  technically 
termed  "water-smoke")  has  been 
removed.    A  small  flame  not  ex- 
ceeding 8  inches  in 
length  can  be  main- 
tained    for     many 
hours  until  the  de- 
sired   results    have 
been  attained,  after 
which    the    burner 
may  be  operated  at 
its  maximum  capac- 
ity   and    the    kiln 
brought  to  tempera- 
ture  as   quickly   as 
prudence  will  allow. 
Therefore     a     very 
superior  product  is 
produced  by  the  use 


of  oil  as  fuel. 


Fig.  258.  Bee-hive  kiln  changed  from  coal  to  oil- 
fired  by  covering  the  grates  with  a  fire-brick 
checkerwork  and  bricking  up  the  firing  door. 


IX^Tr 

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!  II 

Fig    259      An  ordinary  brick  kiln,  capacity  500,000  brick.     Having 
forty  eyes,  it  requires   forty  burners. 


CERAMIC  EQUIPMENT 


285 


-rioriAw    rust*    AT  A-A 


FIRE    BOX     EQUIPTMENT     WHICH    I    RECOMMEND 


NDCR       Klt-N 


EQ.uiPTf«\Er<T   OF  POTTERY 


Fig.  260.     Two  ways  of  equipping  a  pottery  kiln,  the  type  of  construction  shown  in  the 
upper  views  being  the  most  modern. 


Chapter  XX 
LIME  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 

Oil  is  particularly  adapted  for  lime  kilns  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  product  is  more  evenly  heated,  as  the  required  tempera- 
ture can  be  attained  and  maintained  within  a  few  degrees  varia- 
tion. Should  there  be  any  sulphur  in  the  oil,  with  the  proper  method 
of  equipment,  this  will  not  in  any  way  affect  the  lime.  It  is  very 
essential  that  the  operating  valves  be  placed  some  distance  from 
the  burner  opening,  for  sometimes  the  rock  will  not  follow  the  dis- 
charge from  the  kiln,  which  results  in  its  leaving  a  large  opening  in 
the  base  of  the  kiln  and  in  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  this  column  of 
rock  falls  to  the  base  of  the  kiln,  causing  a  blast  of  flame  to  be  ex- 
pelled from  the  burner  opening  which  is  liable  to  catch  any  one 
standing  near  the  front  of  the  kiln.  The  operating  valves  should 
be  so  placed  that  no  harm  can  possibly  befall  the  operator. 

The  most  modern  practice  is  to  use  a  rotary  kiln  in  which  the 
air  from  the  discharged  lime  is  superheated  and  used  in  the  kiln 
to  aid  combustion.  In  Fig.  263  the  burner  is  so  placed  that  the 
furnace  is  used  for  a  combustion  chamber,  but  it  is  better  practice 
to  build  a  combustion  chamber  on  to  the  end  wall  as  shown  in 
Fig.  264. 

The  vertical  line  kiln  equipment  is  illustrated  in  Figs.  265  and  266. 


286 


LIME  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


287 


288 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


LIME  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


289 


Fig.  265.    Vertical  lime  kiln,  requiring  two  burners,  one  on  each  side. 
(Burners  not  shown.) 


290 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


Fig.  266.    Vertical  lime  kiln.    (Combustion  chamber 


Chapter  XXI 
CEMENT  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 

Oil,  when  it  can  compete  with  pulverized  coal,  is  an  excellent 
fuel  for  rotary  cement  kilns.  We  always  recommend  the  use  of 
secondary  air ;  that  is,  volume  air,  in  order  to  obtain  the  maximum 
output  from  the  kiln.  Engineers  always  figure  that  every  20  feet 


Fig.  269.     Burner  piping  and  volume  air  nozzle  under  the  burner. 

of  stack  is  equal  to  1/10  foot  draft  providing  it  is  a  clear  day; 
but  all  days  are  not  clear,  and  if  you  depend  upon  the  stack  to 
draw  in  the  oxygen  needed  to  give  the  required  temperature  on  a 
rainy  day  the  output  is  not  as  great  as  on  a  clear  day.  However 
with  the  aid  of  a  volume  air  nozzle  placed  under  the  burner  as 

291 


292  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

shown  in  Fig.  269  and  volume  air  at  3  ounce  pressure,  you  can  get 
the  maximum  output  from  the  kiln  under  all  climatic  conditions. 

Only  one  burner  is  used,  and  the  operating  valves  of  same  may 
be  placed  in  whatever  position  is  most  convenient  for  the  operator. 

In  Fig.  Nos.  270  and  271  is  shown  the  most  modern  way  of 
equipping  a  cement  kiln.  It  is  always  necessary  to  provide  a  com- 
bustion chamber  of  adequate  proportions,  and  also  to  place  the 
operating  valves  wherever  most  convenient  to  the  operator.  Same 
form  of  poke-hole  and  peep-hole  is  used  as  when  burning  other  fuels. 


CEMENT  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


293 


294 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


Chapter  XXII 
DRYERS  AND  ORE  ROASTERS 

Asphaltum  roads  seem  to  be  the  demand  of  the  hour,  and  if 
properly  laid  with  the  asphaltum  98  per  cent,  pure  are  excellent. 
Figure  275  shows  a  plant  in  which  oil  is  used  as  fuel,  not  only 
for  the  boiler  furnishing  the  steam  to  operate  the  machinery,  but 
also  for  the  sand  dryer  and  the  asphalt  mixer,  these  oil  burners 
being  operated  by  the  steam  from  the  boiler.  It  is  also  used  for 
melting  the  asphaltum  in  the  large  kettles. 

Of  course  the  product  from  these  machines  is  doubled  and  often 
tripled  by  the  use  of  oil  as  fuel  instead  of  coal. 

There  are  numerous  types  of  dryers  for  drying  sand,  etc.  One 
form  is  shown  in  Fig.  278.  It  is  necessary  to  have  a  combustion 
chamber  of  adequate  proportions  to  consume  the  oil  before  reach- 
ing the  dryer  proper.  If  this  is  constructed  in  the  former  coal 
firebox,  the  dryer  can  readily  be  changed  from  coal  to  oil-fired  or 
back  again  to  coal  at  a  minimum  expense. 

Oil  is  particularly  adapted  for  ore  roasting,  for  it  enables  the 
operator  to  attain  and  maintain  the  temperature  required  at  all 
times.  It  is  especially  valuable  for  desulphurizing  ores.  There  are 
legions  of  different  types  of  ore  roasters.  In  the  cylindrical  oven 
shown  in  Fig.  282,  the  ore  is  dropped  into  the  upper  chamber  and 
passes  through  several  chambers  before  being  discharged.  The  rab- 
blers  revolve  and  keep  the  ore  in  a  state  of  agitation,  as  well  as 
conveying  it  from  the  upper  chamber  to  the  lowest  one  from  which 
it  is  discharged.  The  various  chambers  each  require  a  different 
temperature  and  therefore  eight  or  ten  burners  are  required,  ac- 
cording to  the  number  of  chambers  and  the  size  of  the  roaster. 

In  some  types  of  ore  roasters,  it  is  necessary  to  have  the  flame 
from  the  burner  directed  downwardly  upon  the  charge,  which  is 
then  carried  along  by  a  conveyor,  substantially  as  indicated  in 
Fig.  283. 

For  rotary  dryers  in  either  portable  or  stationary  asphalt  plants 
it  is  most  essential  that  the  burner  be  capable  of  atomizing  any 
gravity  of  liquid  fuel,  for  in  some  localities  you  can  get  fuel  oil, 

295 


296 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


DRYERS  AND  ORE  ROASTERS 


297 


other  places  heavy  crude  oil,  while  in  other  localities  nothing  but 
oil  tar  from  a  gas  works  may  be  obtainable.     Burning  liquid  fuel 


Fig.  275.     Portable  asphalt  mixer  equipped  with  oil  burner. 


in  the  vertical  or  other  type  of  boiler  used  to  operate  a  portable 
asphalt  plant  is  a  great  convenience  and  it  eliminates  the  smoke 
nuisance. 


298 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


DRYERS  AND  ORE  ROASTERS 


299 


300 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


DRYERS  AND  ORE  ROASTERS 


301 


302 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


bo 


DRYERS  AND  ORE  ROASTERS 


303 


fctfl 


&JO 


304 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


• 


DRYERS  AND  ORE  ROASTERS 


305 


§ 

fi    •- 


(N 

bi 


Chapter  XXIII 
BREAD  AND  CRACKER  OVEN   EQUIPMENT 

Oil  is  an  excellent  fuel  for  bread  ovens,  and  is  applied  in  the 
same  fire-box  in  which  coal  was  formerly  used.  The  cut  given 
shows  the  manner  of  applying  the  burner.  The  grates  are  simply 
covered  with  fire-brick  and  an  igniting  chamber  built  in  the  door- 
way. Either  steam  or  compressed  air  may  be  used  for  atomizing, 
or  low  pressure  air  may  be  used  if  the  oil  is  of  a  light  gravity. 
There  should  be  one  burner  in  each  fire-box  and  the  operating 
valves  may  be  placed  wherever  most  convenient  for  the  operator. 
The  installation  is  a  very  simple  one  and  a  very  satisfactory  one, 
for  the  baker  can  at  all  times  regulate  the  fire  as  he  wishes  in  order 
to  bake  the  bread,  etc.  No  smoke  nor  odor  when  the  oil  is  properly 
handled. 

The  reel  cracker  oven  (Fig.  287)  has  two  combustion  chambers, 
each  having  graduated  heat  ports  which  insure  an  even  distribution 
of  heat  throughout  the  oven. 

Oil  is  the  ideal  fuel  for  the  ordinary  kitchen  ranges  used  in  hotels, 
restaurants,  etc.  The  manner  of  equipping  a  battery  of  French 
ranges  is  shown  in  Fig.  290. 


306 


BREAD  AND  CRACKER  OVEN  EQUIPMENT 


307 


PQ 


308 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


CM 

bi 


BREAD  AND  CRACKER  OVEN  EQUIPMENT         309 


Fig.  287.    Cracker  baking  oven  of  the  reel  type. 


Fig.  288.     Peterson  oven. 


310 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


bi 

E 


BREAD  AND  CRACKER  OVEN  EQUIPMENT    311 


o 

Cft 
<N 

fcJD 


Chapter    XXIV. 
CHOCOLATE   INDUSTRY   EQUIPMENT 

This  shows  an  oil-burner  as  applied  to  a  cocoa  bean  roaster. 
Oil  is  especially  adapted  for  this  class  of  service  owing  to  the  fact 
that  you  have  perfect  control  of  the  temperatures. 

The  baking  of  a  cocoa  bean  requires  a  quick,  hot  fire  at  first, — 
then  a  light  fire,  and,  during  the  last  of  the  process,  the  fire  is  shut 
off  entirely,  the  heat  radiating  from  the  fire  brick  being  sufficient 
to  finish  the  baking  and  put  in  the  flavor.  This  manner  of  baking 
gives  the  bean  a  much  better  flavor  than  when  coke  is  used  as  fuel, 
for  coke  produces  a  slow  fire  at  first,  which  constantly  increases 
so  the  process  is  just  the  reverse  of  what  it  should  be  in  order  to 
give  the  bean  a  fine  flavor. 


312 


CHOCOLATE  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


313 


CO 

bib 


Chapter  XXV 
OIL  AND  TAR  STILL  EQUIPMENT 

There  are  hundreds  of  different  forms  of  oil  stills.  Some  are 
of  the  tank  type  as  shown  in  Fig.  296,  others  are  of  the  boiler  type, 
while  others  again  are  of  the  topping  type  where  the  elements  of 
the  still  can  quickly  be  removed  when  their  operation  is  effected  by 
carbon  in  the  tubes  of  the  still. 

Oil  is  an  ideal  fuel  for  this  class  of  service  for  with  it  you  can 
obtain  the  varying  temperatures  required.  The  more  volatile  oils 
are  taken  off  first  and  the  heat  in  the  furnace  of  the  still  is  grad- 
ually raised  to  the  temperatures  required  for  the  different  dis- 
tillations. 

In  order  to  obtain  the  various  by-products  from  tar,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  distill  same.  This  is  ordinarily  done  by  means  of  a  hori- 
zontal still  as  shown  in  Fig.  297.  You  will  note  that  the  fire  cham- 
ber is  provided  with  an  arch  in  order  to  protect  the  bottom  of  the 
still  from  the  excessive  heat.  The  heat  ports  in  this  arch  vary  in 
proportion  to  the  size  of  the  still.  This  form  of  construction  in 
the  firebox  is  most  essential,  as  it  prevents  the  excessive  heat  from 
impinging  upon  the  bottom  of  the  shell.  Only  the  radiated  heat 
passing  upwardly  and  around  the  still,  gives  the  required  tem- 
perature. 


314 


OIL  AND  TAR  STILL  EQUIPMENT 


315 


Fig.  295.     Oil  still.     (Burner  end  view.) 


316 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


OIL  AND  GAS  STILL  EQUIPMENT 


317 


b 


Chapter  XXVI 
INCINERATOR    EQUIPMENT 


Fig.  300.     Incinerator. 


I  believe  that  some  day  not  far  in  the  future  incinerators  will 
have  to  be  used  in  manufacturing  plants  and  aboard  vessels  to 
destroy  the  garbage.  In  fact,  residences  will  in  time  employ  this 
method  to  destroy  vegetable  matter,  one  incinerator  being  erected 

318 


INCINERATOR  EQUIPMENT 


319 


for  a  group  of  houses.    This  form  is  absolutely  sanitary,  as  it  pro- 
vides every  means  for  the  elimination  of  smoke. 


Fig.  301.     Incinerator  equipment. 


You  will  notice  a  burner  is  used  to  consume  the  charge,  and  if 
smoke  occurs  this  is  consumed  by  burner  No.  2  in  the  secondary 
or  upper  chamber. 


Chapter  XXVII 
GLASS  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 

In  the  melting,  bending  and  annealing  of  glass  oil,  if  properly 
installed,  is  a  fuel  which  insures  success.  There  are  many  types 
of  glass-melting  furnaces:  regenerative,  recuperative  and  the  or- 
dinary tank  type.  The  equipment  of  the  latter  is  illustrated  in 
Fig.  303. 

In  regenerative  glass-melting  furnaces  about  12  feet  by  20  feet 
(or  larger  or  smaller)  we  use  two  burners  placed  in  the  manner 
shown  in  Fig.  304.  Each  burner  is  of  capacity  adequate  for  the  en- 
tire operation.  Of  course  in  this  type  of  furnace  only  one  burner 
is  used  at  any  time,  and  the  other  burner  is  placed  in  operation 
when  the  first  burner  is  shut  off  and  the  reversing  valve  is  ad- 
justed. 

Oil  is  an  ideal  fuel  for  glass  melting  as  the  sulphur  content  of 
the  oil  does  not  in  any  way  effect  the  molten  glass. 

In  recuperative  glass-melting  furnaces  (Fig  307)  the  burner  is 
placed  over  the  air  opening,  substantially  as  shown.  The  operating 
valves  of  the  burner  may  be  placed  in  any  position  convenient  for 
the  operator — near  the  burner  or  50  feet  from  it. 

There  are  two  ways  of  equipping  a  glass  lehr.  Formerly  we 
placed  a  burner  on  each  side  as  indicated  in  the  view  marked  "Fig. 
A,"  but  the  modern  way  is  to  place  the  burner  immediately  under 
the  arch  so  that  the  flame  passing  from  the  combustion  chamber 
runs  along  the  upper  portion  of  the  lehr.  This  direct-fired  installa- 
tion is  clearly  shown  in  the  lower  view  of  Fig.  311.  It  is  by  far  the 
most  economical  and  modern  method  of  equipment. 

When  using  Mexican  oil  in  lehrs  the  ware  is  sometimes  effected 
by  the  sulphur  in  the  oil  settling  down  upon  the  ware,  thereby 
discoloring  it,  which  must  of  course  be  washed  off.  This  is  avoided 
by  using  a  muffle  furnace  such  as  shown  in  Fig.  312.  There  are  of 
course  a  great  number  of  other  types  and  forms  of  muffle  lehrs. 

There  are  numerous  plate-glass  industries  that  co-operate  with 
architects  in  the  bending  of  plate  glass.  Great  care  must  be  ex- 
ercised in  the  heating  of  this  glass  as  the  plates  are  charged  into 

320 


GLASS  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


321 


Fig.  303.     Old  type  glass  melting  furnace,  practically  obsolete 
to-day.   Size  in  the  bath,  14  feet,  by  18  ft. 


322 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


3lCTi«N  fi 


Fig.  304.     Regenerative  glass  melting  furnace. 


GLASS  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


323 


this  furnace  when  the  furnace  is  cold,  and  the  sheet  steel  form 
placed  under  the  plate.  The  furnace  is  then  operated  very  slowly 
as  the  heat  must  be  very  evenly  distributed.  When  the  plate  has 
reached  a  certain  temperature  it  gradually  bends  into  the  form 
provided  for  it  and  becomes  of  the  radius  required. 


Fig.   305.     Diagram   showing   the   two   burners    and   piping — regenera- 
tive glass  melting  furnace  shown  in  Fig.  304. 


Oil  is  an  incomparable  fuel  for  this  class  of  work  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  heat  in  this  furnace  is  under  perfect  control. 

Figures  313,  314  and  315  show  a  coke-fired  furnace  changed  to 
oil-fired.  The  difference  in  the  length  of  operation  between  coke 
and  oil  as  fuel  is  that  it  only  requires  about  one-quarter  as  long 
when  oil  is  used  as  while  using  coke. 


324 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


U 

VI    W 


S 

a 
I 


ti 


GLASS  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


325 


Fig.  307.     Recuperative  glass  melting  furnace. 


326 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


•ELI  i        i    i   i  MI  1 1 


Fig.   308.      Another  glass  furnace  of  the  recuperative  type. 


GLASS  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


327 


Fig.  309.  Equipment   of   a   glass   furnace   of   the   recuperative   type. 


Fig.  310.     Lehrs,  80  feet  long  equipped  with  only  one  burner. 


328 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


GLASS  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


329 


Fig.  312.     Muffle  Lehr. 


330 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


GLASS  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT 


331 


FLCOf? 
Line? 


A**** 


L  /3f~ 


;$^m^|||k|^^^ 

^vS^^^VN^^X^^^ 


Fig.  314.  Plate  glass  bending  furnace.  Cross  sectional  view 
showing  flue  in  center  and  the  grates  covered  with  fire-brick 
on  either  side. 


Fig.  315.     Burner  end  view  of  plate  glass  bending  furnace. 


Chapter   XXVIII 
COMBUSTION  ENGINEERING 

As  oil  is  now  used  in  nearly  every  large  works  there  is  a  great 
need  to-day  for  the  intelligent  installation  and  operation  of  oil- 
burners  and  oil  systems.  The  demand  is  increasing  daily  for  real 
combustion  engineers  who  have  had  experience  in  the  operation 
of  boilers,  furnaces,  etc.; — for  those  who  can  effect  a  saving  in 
fuel  in  the  average  plant  representing  three  or  four  times  the 
amount  of  their  salary.  There  are  a  few  competent  combustion 
engineers  in  this  country,  but  the  demand  for  men  trained  in  the 
art  of  properly  burning  oil  far  exceeds  the  supply.  It  takes  years 
of  training  to  become  competent,  for  in  this  calling  theory  must 
give  way  to  practice.  The  engineer's  superior  knowledge  as  to 
how  best  to  obtain  results  commands  the  respect  of  the  men  in 
charge  of  the  furnaces  and  boilers. 

There  are  many  to-day  who  imagine  that  they  are  combustion 
engineers,  but  we  find  that  these  have  had  very  little  actual 
experience.  For  example,  in  large  copper  furnaces  the  charge 
is  sometimes  worth  from  $50,000  to  $75,000,  and  of  course  ex- 
perimenting cannot  be  permitted.  Though  the  furnace  may  be 
properly  designed,  the  burner  of  adequate  capacity  and  the  oil 
system  perfectly  installed,  if  the  apparatus  is  operated  by  a  novice 
everything  will  be  condemned  and  the  charge  oxidized  and  ruined 
— possibly  a  total  loss.  I  have  seen  oil  as  a  fuel  condemned  in 
hundreds  of  plants  simply  because  the  operator  claimed  he  had 
had  experience  in  burning  oil,  but  his  operation  of  the  burners 
plainly  proved  he  had  only  seen  oil-fired  furnaces  in  operation 
and  that  he  had  never  operated  them  before.  Again,  too,  I  have 
often  seen  furnaces  the  design  of  which  reflected  upon  the  designer 
and  caused  oil  to  be  rejected  for  years  in  that  plant  until  finally 
one  of  the  officials,  seeing  it  burned  successfully  in  another  plant 
manufacturing  the  same  product,  compels  his  works  to  again  use 
liquid  fuel  for  he  feels  that  his  works  can  certainly  use  oil  as  suc- 
cessfully as  competing  firms. 

What  we  need  is  combustion  engineers  who  can  design  furnaces 

332 


GLASS  INDUSTRY  EQUIPMENT  333 

which  will  be  a  credit  to  both  the  engineer  and  the  company  with 
which  he  is  connected.  They  must  be  men  experienced  in  the 
burning  of  liquid  fuel  and  the  designing  of  furnaces,  for  experi- 
ments are  costly,  and  no  manufacturer  desires  to  construct  fur- 
naces which  may  not  prove  efficient.  If  it  is  a  heat-treating  fur- 
nace for  the  heat-treatment  of  20  tons  of  metal,  the  metallurgist 
will  inform  the  designer  as  to  the  proportions  of  the  sections  of 
the  charge,  the  length  of  time  the  metal  should  remain  in  the  fur- 
nace and  the  temperature  at  which  it  should  be  heat-treated.  If 
he  cannot  with  this  data  before  him  calculate  the  quantity  of  liquid 
fuel  and  air  required  to  bring  the  charge  to  a  given  temperature 
and  maintain  that  temperature  for  the  length  of  time  required, 
he  is  a  failure.  He  should  have  the  data  required  for  such  calcu- 
lations so  that  in  998  furnaces  out  of  every  1,000  he  will  be  suc- 
cessful. If  he  cannot  do  this  he  is  a  very  dangerous  man  in  any 
plant  or  office. 

I  know  there  are  many  designers  who  put  six  burners  on  one 
side  and  eight  burners  on  the  other  side  of  a  furnace,  staggering 
their  locations.  Then,  if  this  number  of  burners  does  not  bring  the 
furnace  to  temperature,  they  will  put  in  some  more  burners.  That 
is  certainly  not  engineering;  just  merely  guesswork  and  should 
not  be  permitted!  By  placing  a  large  number  of  burners  in  a 
furnace  it  is  impossible  to  control  the  temperature  accurately. 
Some  of  the  burners  are  operated  at  CO  and  others  at  C02,  which 
makes  it  very  perplexing  for  the  operator  in  his  endeavor  to  main- 
tain an  even  distribution  of  heat  in  the  furnace.  The  man  who 
designs  a  combustion  chamber  of  adequate  proportions  and  then 
cannot  chart  off  the  radiation  of  heat  in  the  furnace,  cannot  be 
considered  a  successful  designer.  This  of  course  cannot  be  done 
if  a  large  number  of  burners  are  used  and  their  location  staggered 
in  the  manner  just  mentioned.  If  we  desire  to  sell  our  goods  in 
foreign  countries  and  tag  them  "Made  in  America,"  our  product 
should  be  heat-treated  properly  in  order  to  merit  the  name  of  our 
beloved  country. 

A  college-trained  man  has  many  advantages  over  the  mechanic 
who  has  not  had  the  benefit  of  a  college  education,  providing 
the  college  man  after  graduating  uses  his  technical  training  as  a 
foundation  on  which  to  place  practical  knowledge.  This  requires 
years  of  sacrifice  and  hard  labor.  He  must  begin  at  the  very  bot- 
tom, so  to  speak,  and  climb  round  by  round  to  the  top  of  the  ladder. 


334  BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 

When  he  has  added  practical  knowledge  to  his  technical  education 
he  can  live  a  life  worth  while,  and  his  services  will  always  be  in 
demand.  If  he  is  examining  an  oil  pump  which  fails  to  operate 
he  will  then  be  capable  of  noting  its  defects,  and  will  not  have  to 
depend  upon  the  judgment  of  the  stationary  engineer  or  mechanic 
but  upon  his  own  knowledge  based  upon  facts — not  theory. 

From  time  to  time  men  claiming  to  be  engineers  come  into  my 
office  and  state  that,  according  to  certain  figures  which  they  have 
compiled,  when  using  good  coal  one  should  get  an  evaporation  of 
16.3  pounds  of  water  per  pound  of  coal  and  using  oil  of  19.5  pounds 
of  water  per  pound  of  oil.  They  do  not  specify  the  calorific  value 
of  the  coal,  which  is  of  course  very  important.  It  might  be  Poca- 
hontas  coal  of  the  Virginias  which  has  a  calorific  value  of  15,391 
B.t.u.  per  pound,  or  it  might  be  Illinois  coal  which  has  a  calorific 
value  of  10.500  B.t.u.  per  pound.  I  invariably  inquire  where  they 
secure  this  data  but  have  never  been  able  to  find  out  the  name 
of  any  plant  operating  with  such  wonderful  efficiency  as  they 
claim.  When  questioned  as  to  their  data,  they  invariably  make  the 
statement  that  figures  do  not  lie;  and  yet  every  engineer  knows 
that  figures  in  the  hands  of  a  novice  can  be  made  to  tell  some 
terrible  falsehoods.  The  safe  man  is  the  one  who  compiles  his  own 
figures,  not  using  the  exceptional  cases,  but  the  data  secured  from 
numerous  tests.  I  always  like  to  see  a  man  who  has  genius  enough 
to  be  daring,  for  that  man  is  a  leader  among  men  if  he  has  any 
real  knowledge.  I  speak  now  of  knowledge,  not  theory.  I  wish 
to  emphasize  this  point,  because  these  men  are  absolutely  neces- 
sary if  we  are  going  to  advance. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  our  universities,  colleges  and  trade  schools 
do  not  train  their  students  in  the  burning  of  liquid  fuel,  because 
this  in  my  judgment  is  absolutely  essential  at  the  present  time. 
There  are  very  few  manufacturers  who  do  not  burn  oil  in  some 
portion  of  their  works.  Oil  is  the  fuel  of  the  twentieth  century. 
Imagine  the  thoughts  of  a  graduate  who  has  just  received  his 
diploma,  and  entered  the  employ  of  a  plant  where  oil  is  used  as 
fuel  either  in  its  power  plant,  heat-treating  department,  or  some 
other  department.  I  will  give  you  a  concrete  example  of  such  an 
occurrence. 

About  12  years  ago  a  young  man  after  graduating  from  a  tech- 
nical school  went  to  work  in  a  large  manufacturing  plant.  Know- 
ing the  need  of  obtaining  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  method  of 


COMBUSTION  ENGINEERING  335 

manufacturing  their  various  products,  he  began  in  the  smith 
shop  as  a  smith's  helper,  and  went  through  all  the  various  depart- 
ments until  he  became  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  work  in 
each  department.  At  that  time  the  fuels  used  in  this  plant  were 
producer  gas  and  coal.  The  president  of  the  company  watched 
this  young  man  for  three  years  and  then  determined  to  make  him 
shop  superintendent.  This  position  he  filled  admirably  for  a  year. 
Then  he  approached  the  president  and  stated  he  desired  to  install 
oil  as  fuel  in  the  plant  because  he  wished  to  modernize  it.  The 
president  assented  to  his  wishes,  and  oil  was  installed.  This  re- 
sulted in  increasing  the  output  of  the  plant  approximately  100 
per  cent.,  reduced  the  cost  of  fuel,  and  vastly  improved  the  quality 
of  their  product.  He  was  later  given  an  interest  in  the  business, 
and  made  general  superintendent  of  the  entire  plant,  embracing 
all  the  different  departments. 

Shortly  after  that  the  new  general  superintendent's  brother, 
who  had  just  been  graduated  from  the  same  technical  school  as  he, 
was  offered  a  position  in  the  plant  by  his  brother.  The  first  job 
he  got  was  to  find  out  the  quantity  of  oil  required  to  forge  and 
heat-treat  a  certain  class  of  goods  made  in  the  works.  The  brother 
immediately  went  out  to  the  shop  and  for  the  first  time  saw  oil 
burned  in  furnaces.  He  returned  to  his  brother  and  said :  "Brother, 
I  am  sorry  to  have  to  fall  down  on  the  first  job  you  have  given  me, 
but  I  myself  must  first  learn  the  art  of  properly  burning  oil  before 
I  can  make  a  correct  report  to  you."  The  general  superintendent 
clasped  his  brother's  hands  and  stated :  "That  is  just  what  I  hoped 
you  would  say.  I  knew  that  you  knew  nothing  about  burning  oil, 
and  put  you  to  the  test  to  find  out  just  what  you  would  say.  Had 
you  made  a  bluff  at  it  we  would  both  have  been  disappointed,  but 
since  it  is  your  desire  to  first  learn  how  to  burn  oil,  it  will  be  a 
pleasure  for  me  to  aid  you  in  every  way  possible."  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  the  young  man  for  several  years  held  a  responsible  posi- 
tion with  this  firm.  Afterwards  he  became  the  works  manager  of 
a  new  plant. 

I  know  of  but  one  institution  of  learning  in  the  world  that  is 
making  an  effort  to  instruct  its  students  in  the  science  of  burning 
liquid  fuel.  Their  new  building  has  just  been  erected  and  their  oil 
tanks,  furnaces,  etc.,  are  being  installed.  I  refer  to  the  Lincoln 
Memorial  University,  Harrogate,  Tenn.  (near  Cumberland  Gap). 
The  accompanying  cut  shows  the  plan  lay-out  of  a  schoel  for  the 


336 


BURNING  LIQUID  FUEL 


instruction  of  students  in  the  burning  of  liquid  fuel  for  melting, 
forging  and  heat-treatment  of  metals. 

It  is  always  advisable  to  keep  all  patterns  in  a  fire-proof  building 
made  of  stone,  brick  or  concrete.  This  building  in  the  diagram  is 
marked  "No.  1"  and  is,  as  you  will  note,  located  some  distance  from 
the  other  building,  which  also  is  a  precaution  against  fire.  No.  2 
is  the  boiler  room,  while  Nos.  3  and  4  indicate  the  brass  and  grey 
iron  foundries.  No.  5  is  the  stock  room  for  the  forge  drop  and 
No.  6  is  the  mason's  room  wherein  all  furnaces  are  relined  or  re- 
paired. No.  7  is  the  forge  shop  and  the  heat-treating  room,  No.  8, 
the  machine  shop ;  No.  9,  the  testing  room,  and  No.  10  is  the  exhi- 
bition room. 


Fig.  316.     Plan  layout  of  building  at  Lincoln  Memorial  University, 
showing  boiler  room,   foundries,  machine  shop,   etc. 


INDEX 


PAGE 

A 

Air,  Auxiliary    35,  238 

Furnaces   195 

Quantity  required  for  combustion     34 

Regulation    124 

Analysis,  Air  Furnace  Bottom  Sand     71 

Bagasse  143 

Beaumont   ( Texas )   Crude  Oil  . .     25 
Brick  for  Crucible  Furnaces  ....      69 

California  Crude  Oil   25 

Coal     88 

Fuel  or  Residium  Oil 25 

Mexican  Topped  Crude  Oil  ( Tam- 

pico  Fields)    25 

Tar,  Coal 26,  27 

Dominion  Coal 26 

London    26 

Oil    26 

Angle  Heating  Furnaces    247 

Annealing  and  Tempering  Furnaces 

Automobile  Spring 186 

Burners  Required    173,  193 

Car  type    177,  179 

Cast  Iron  Pipe    186 

Coal  or  Coke,  fired  changed  to  oil  186 
Combustions   Chambers  for    ....    191 

Declined  Hearth   186 

Direct-fired    178,    237,  244 

Direct  versus  Indirect-fired  .171,  173 
High   Speed   Steel 

173,  178,  237,  242,  244 

Hot  Air    186 

Indirect-fired     171,  175 

Malleable  Iron  Castings   201 

Muffle    244,  270 

Overhead-fired    178 

Pipe,  large   263 

Pit    186 

Portable     245,    251,  258 

Preheating  Chamber,  with   178 

Rotary,  Cold  Pinched  Nuts,  etc..    184 

Rotary  Table 183 

Semi-Muffle    186,  223 

Semi-Pit    186 

Shaft   179 

Sheet  Copper  and  Brass 210 

Shell     179,  181 

Asphalt  Melters  and  Mixers    296 

Axe  Head  Tempering  Furnace    ....    241 

337 


PAGE 


B 


s,  Calorific  value   143 

Oil  'required  per  ton    143 

Bar  Rivet— Making  Furnaces 

Billet   Heating   Furnaces    

Coal  to  Oil-fired    230 

Concrete  Base    230 

Continuous 227 

Copper     269 

Modern     229,  237 

Oil  versus  Coal  225 

Portable    232 

With  Waste  Heat  Boiler   .  .  .233,  238 
Boilers:    Apparatus    for    Firing   Up 

and  Testing   249 

Babcock     &     Wilcox      (Altman- 

Taylor)     57,  101,  142 

Back-fired    93,  145 

Blast    Furnace   Gas    and   Oil   as 

Fuel     126 

Burners     33,  85,  87,  134 

Coal  and  Oil  or  Tar  Combination 

Equipment    85 

(See  Liquid  Fuel   Injecting  Ap- 
paratus) 

Differential      Draft   Gage    121 

Economic    89 

Electric  Light  Plants 86 

Ferry  Boats  Tugs  etc 95 

Firing  up  when  Boiler  is  Cold.89,  108 

Fitzgibbons    114 

Heine   94 

Horse  Power    126 

Hot     Water     or     Low     Pressure 

Steam    129 

Lancashire     97,     98 

Line  of  Blaze 94 

Liquid  Fuel  Injecting  Apparatus  114 
Locomotive         Type — Stationary 

Service    88 

Manner  of  Lighting  Burner ....      89 

Manning    113 

Multitubular    146,   147,  148 

Oil  versus  Coal 27,   85,     87 

Peak  Loads    85 

Return   Tubular    108,  136 

Scotch   Marine:      Dry-back    ....    100 

Wet-back    99 

Settings :    Grate  versus  Deep ...     94 


338 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Boilers : 

Low  versus  High 104 

Stirling 94 

Stokers  and  Oil  Burners 87 

Tangential  Flame  Equipment      .    108 

Tests    121 

Tests  by  U.  S.  Navy  Liquid  Fuel 

Board     84 

Traction  Power  Plants 85 

Twin   Fire-box    96 

Vertical :          Air        Carbureting 

Burner    '.  .    134 

Oil    108,  113 

Oil  and  Gas 109 

Waste   Heat    233,  238 

Wickes   119,  120 

Bolt  Heading    230,  236 

Brass  Melting   201 

Brazing    258,  261 

Bread   Ovens    307 

Brick:      Crucible     Steel     Furnaces, 

Analysis    69 

How  to  Lay  in  Furnaces 70 

Kilns   284 

Need  of  in  Portable  Furnaces . .   259 

Relining  Furnaces 222,  230 

Special   Shapes    70 

British   Thermal   Unit:    Defined   25,     29 

In  various  fuels 28 

Brutus,  Welding  Rudder  on 254 

Bull    Ladle    Heating 166 

Burners:      Air    Carbureting 134 

Gas — Natural    or    Commercial .  .      38 
High   Pressure    (Steam  or   Com- 
pressed Air)    36 

Liquid  Fuel  Injecting  Apparatus 
— See   Heading 

Locomotive 72 

Low  Pressure  or  Volume  Air .  .  38 
Manner  of  Lighting — Boiler ....  89 
Manner  of  Lighting — Furnace.  .  204 

Mechanical   37 

Oil  or  Tar 33 

Open  Hearth    153,  158 

Open   Hearth,   Water-cooled.  152,  163 

Pilot    80,  111 

Piping  with  Volume  Air  Nozzle.    292 

Pulverized   Coal    38 

Swivel  Joint.  .  .87,  135,  144,  148,  152 
By-product  Coke  Oven  Gas 27 


PAGE 

Char  Kiln    150 

Chemical   Furnaces   and   Stills 272 

CO2    Recorder    125 

Coal :      Analysis    88 

Graphitic    28 

In  Combination  with  Oil . 85 

(See  Liquid  Fuel   Injecting  Ap- 
paratus ) 

Pulverized   28,     38 

Tar     26 

Cocoa  Bean  Roasting 313 

Coke  Oven  Benches 138 

Coke    Oven    Gas 27 

Combustion    29 

Combustion    Chambers    225 

Combustion  Engineers 332 

Comparison — Various       Kinds       of 

Fuels    27 

Compressed  Air  Oil   System 42 

Compressed  Air  versus   Steam 36 

Continuous   Billet    Heating 227 

Copper:      Annealing    (Sheet  Copper 

or    Brass)     210 

Continuous    Billet   Heating 269 

Matting     267 

Refining 264 

Core   Ovens    211 

Crucible  Brass  Melting 201 

Steel   Melting    153 

Steel  Furnace  Brick    69 

Cupolas,  To  Light 261 

Cupolas    versus    Furnaces 200 


Deflection   Blast    238 

Desulphurizing  Iron  Ore 305 

Die   Hardening    244 

Direct-fired      Annealing      Furnaces : 

High  Speed  Steel 173 

Shaft  Annealing   179 

Shell    (155    MM.) 183 

Draft   Gage    121 

Drop  Forging 227,  236 

Dryers    295,  300 

Duplex    Burner    Equipments.  .  .  .  80,  112 

E 

Electric  Locomotive    (First) 7 

Enameling    270 


Car-type    Annealers 177.  179 

Carbon    Steel    Ill,  173 

Case-Hardening   Furnaces 173,  186 

Cement  Kilns    291 

Centrifugal    Air    Compressor ....  37,     44 


Ferrite 171 

Fireman's  Regulating  Quadrant.  ...      74 
Firing  up  and  Testing  Boilers.. 249,  258 

Flangft    Welding — Pipe 263 

Flanging   Furnace 247,   251,258 


INDEX 


339 


PAGE 

Flue  Welding  Furnace 261 

Foot  Valve  and  Strainer 

Forge,   Oil    234 

Forge  Shop— Modern 221 

Forging  Furnaces :    Coal  to  Oil-fired  235 

Concrete  Foundations    230 

Flame  Required  for  Welding . .  .   235 

Portable    221  245 

Small 242,  244 

Frame  Welding    (Locomotive) 255 

French  Kitchen  Ranges 311 


Japanning  Oven 


PAGE 
,  270 


K 


Kilns :      Brick    284 

Cement     292 

Char    ! 150 

Lime    287 

Ore  Roaster   296 

Pottery    286 


Gas   Burner    (Natural   or    Commer- 
cial)       38 

Gas  and  Oil — Boiler  Service 109 

Glass    Melting,     Bending    and    An- 
nealing      321 

Globe  Valve  versus   Oil  Regulating 

Cock     46 

Graphitic    Coal     28 

Gravity  Feed   Oil   Systems, 

40,   110,   122,  129 

Grey   Iron    Castings :    Annealing    . .  186 

Melting  200 

H 

Hand  Torches   259 

Hardening  Dies 244 

Heat     216 

Heat  Deflectors    230,  238 

Heat     Ports:       Indirect-fired     Fur- 
naces      175,  223 

Mould    Drying    Ovens 160 

Heating  Crown   Sheets 251,  258 

Heat-treating    Furnaces:    Coal    ver- 
sus Oil    27 

(See  Annealing   Furnaces) 

High  Pressure  Burners 36 

High  Speed  Steel  Furnaces, 

173,   174,  235,  242,  244 

Horse  Power,  Boiler 126 

Hot  Air  Furnace. 133,  186 

Hydrometer  Thermometer 32 


Incinerator     319 

Indirect-fired     Furnaces      (See     An- 
nealing) : 

Burners  Required 173 

Cartype    179 

Shell  Annealing    179 

Twin-type     188 

Ingot  Heating   225 

Inverted    Arches     (Locomotive)....  73 

Iron  Ore  Desulphurizing  Furnace .  .  305 


Laboratory   Furnace    259 

Ladle  Heating 152,  165,  215,  258 

Lead  Bath  Furnace 183 

Lehrs     ' 327,  328 

L'envoi    340 

Lighting  cupolas    261 

Lime  Kiln    287 

Lincoln   Memorial  University 336 

Line  of  Blaze — Boiler .  s 94 

Liquid  Fuel  Injecting  Apparatus. .  .  114 

Air    Furnaces    200 

Bagasse,   In   Combination  with..  149 

Return  Tubular  Boiler. 136 

Stirling  Boiler    118 

Waste  Heat   Boiler,  O.  H.   Fur- 
nace    117 

Water  Gas  Tar,  With. 129 

Wickes  Boiler 119,  120 

Locomotive :         Boiler  —  Stationary 

Service    88 

Burner    72 

Damper  Regulation    74 

Duplex  Oil   System 80 

Fireman's  Regulating  Quadrant.  74 

First  Electric    7 

First   Equipped  by  Author 9 

Frame   Welding    255 

Inverted  Arches    73 

Oil    Regulating    Cock 75 

Oil  Superheater 76 

Oil    Tank     76 

Oil   versus   Coal 26 

Pilot    Burner    80 

Testing  Apparatus  249 

Tonnage — Coal  versus  Oil 72 

Low  Pressure  Burner .  .  38 


M 


70 


Magnesite    Brick    

Malleable    Iron    Furnaces:     Anneal- 
ing      201 

First,  where  located 199 

Modern   Melting    197 

Type  of   Burner  Required 200 


340 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Martinsite 172 

Mechanical    Burners    37 

Metallurgist    216,  223 

Melting  Furnaces 201 

Melting — Laboratory    Tests    259 

Meter,  Steam  Flow 121 

Millet  Ovens    215 

Molasses  Refuse   : 151 

Mould  Drying    158,  211 

Moulds,   Skin-drying    261 

Mounted    Burner — Boilers 85 

Muffle   Furnaces,    annealing,   baking 

enamel,   etc 244,  269 

Muffle  Lehr    329 

Multiple  Ladle  Heating  Furnace, 

166,  167 


Oil :     Analysis See  Heading 

Atomization     33 

Automatic   Regulation    36 

Base 24 

Bath    Furnace    184 

Chemical  Furnace  Heating,  For.  281 

Discovery    18 

Fluctuation,  Cause  of 42,  50,  138 

Foot  Valve  and  Strainer 55 

Forge 234 

Geological  Formation    16 

Gusher — Spindletop    17 

Heaters     56,     76 

Heating — Temperature  Required, 

42,  219 

Origin 15 

Piping,  Fittings,  etc 40 

Pressure  Reducing  Valve... 247,  254 

Pressure    Relief   Valve 55 

Production:      U.    S.    annual    by 

states 19,     20 

U.  S.  annual  by  fields 21,     22 

World    23,     24 

Pulsometer    55 

Pump  Regulator    50,     54 

Pumps 42 

Quantity    Required    in    Various 

Services     26,     27 

Regulating  Cocks    46,     75 

Sand    16 

Stand-pipe   or   Column 42 

Still 315,  316 

Study   of,   at   Lincoln   Memorial 

University    336 

Superheater    76 

Supply  Systems See  Heading 

Tanks    See  Heading 

Testing  Apparatus   31 

Use  of  in  Navy 217 

Versus  Coal  in  Various  Services, 

26,     27 


PAGE 

Oil: 

Versus  Wood 27 

Open  Hearth:    Burner  with  Swivel 

Joints   152,   153,  158 

Burner,    water-cooled    163 

Furnace,  Gas  to  Oil-fired 152 

Furnace,   Modern 162 

Ore  Roasters  295,  301,  304 

Overhead  Oil-fired  Furnace...          .    178 


Pearlite  171 

Peterson  Bread  Oven 309,  310 

Pipe:    Annealing,  large  Cast  Iron.    186 

Bending   251,  259,  261,  263 

Brazing    258,  261 

Flange  Welding 263 

Joints,  Paste  to  Prevent  Leaking     40 

Plant  Supt ;  The  successful   224 

Plate  Glass  Bending 330,  331 

Plate  Heating  Furnaces    243 

Portable  Furnaces  245,  251,  256,  258,  259 

Pottery  Kiln   285 

Power  Plants :  Coal  versus  Oil  ....     27 

Peak  Loads    85 

Preheating  Air 

Preheating  Chamber 178 

Pressure  Reducing  Valve    247,  254 

Pressure  Relief  Valve   55 

Pulsometer 55 

Pulverized    Coal :    Burner    38 

Method  of  Burning  in  Combina- 
tion with  Oil    28 

Pumps    42,  138 

Pumping  Systems See  Systems 

Pyrometers     67 


Quadrant,  Fireman's  Regulating    . .  74 

R 

Recuperative  Furnaces — Glass    322,  325 

Reel  Oven — Cracker 309 

Refuse — Incinerator   319 

Regenerative   Furnaces :    Glass    ....  323 

Open  Hearth    152 

Regulating  Cocks  46,  75 

Return  Tubular  Boiler:    Oil  exclus- 
ively as  fuel    108 

Oil  in  Combination  with  Coal  or 

Breeze     86,  136 

Rivet  Furnaces :  Heating,  Stationary  244 

Heating,  Portable 245 

Making    244 

Roasters:    Cocoa   Bean    313 

Ore    , 296,   305,  306 

Rosin  Still  Equipment    276 


INDEX 


341 


PAGE 

Rotary  Equipments:  Bread  Oven  .  308 

Dryers  295,  300,  302 

Furnaces  183,  184 

Kilns,  Cement  294 

Kilns,  Lime  288 

Reel  Oven,  Crackers  307 

Ore  Roasters  304 

Rudder  Welding 254 


Sand  Dryer    300 

Scotch  Marine  Boilers    .99,  100 

Scrap    Brass    Melting    Furnace    .  . .   206 

Scrap  Iron  Welding   11,  238 

Semi-feet,     Bung     Arch     Annealing 

Furnace    186 

Separator,  Sharpies   ' 137 

Shaft     Furnaces:     Annealing     (car 

type) 179 

Heating     237 

Shell    Annealing    Furnaces:    Direct 

fired     180 

Indirect   fired    175 

Shingling  Furnace   235 

Soaking    Pits     164 

Solution   Bath   Furnace    184 

Steam  Flow  Meter    121 

Steam  versus  Compressed  Air    ....      36 

Steel,  Drawing 186 

Steel  Foundry  Castings,  Annealing.    186 

Steel  Heat  Treatment   171 

Stills:    Chemical    273 

Oil,  heated    281 

Oil  and  Tar   315 

Stokers  and  Oil  Equipment 87 

Sugar-Calorific  Value    143 

Sulphur,  To  eliminate  Effects 

of    199,  219,  223 

Sulphuric  Acid  Furnace   280 

Superheater    (Oil)    46,  76 

Systems,  Oil  Supply:   Boiler 

Testing     122,  123 

Complete  Circulating    223 

Compressed  Air    42 

Gas  Works    40,  138 

Gravity   Feed    40,    110,    129,  138 

House  Heating 42,  129 

Imperfect     50,  221 

Light  Oil  40,  44 

Marine    Service    44 

Pressure  Recommended  on    ....   221 

Proper,  Modern    50,  56 

Temporary    56,  63 

Thermometers    on    39 

Valveless    ,  42 


PAGE 

T 

Tangential  Flame  Equipment: 

Boilers    108 

Crucibles     210 

Furnaces     184 

Stills    274,  275 

Tanks :  Care  of  67 

Capacity,  To  find   67 

Concrete    66 

Fire  Prevention    40 

Foot  Valve  and  Strainer    55 

Heating  of    39,  67 

Locomotive     76 

Size  Recommended  for  Oil  Storage  42 

Steel    56 

Ventage    67 

Tar :    Analysis    26 

Gravity  Feed    40,   86,  138 

Heating  of   44,  46,  138 

Stills    317 

To  Separate  from  Water    135 

Valveless  System    42 

Testing  Instruments    31 

Thermometers    39 

Tire-heating     261 

Tool  Dressing   235,  242,  244 

Tubal   Cain 216 

Tug  Boats:   Increase  in  Service  26,  225 
Boiler  Equipment    95 

V 

Valveless  Oil  System    42 

Vanstoning     263 

Vaporizing    Point:    Retort    for    De- 

ermining     30 

Various   Fuels    25,  219 

Ventage:   Oil  Systems    55,  138 

Furnaces    157,    223,  249 

Vertical  Boilers 108,  109,  113,  134 

Volume  Air :    Burner    38 

To  Aid  Combustion    35,  291 

w 

Waste  Heat  Boilers   233,  238 

Water  Gas  Tar:  Chemical  Action..    138 

To  Separate  from  Water   135 

Uses    27,     29 

Water-Smoke,  To  Remove    284 

Welding :    Flame  Required  for    ....   235 

Flues     261 

Furnaces     225 

Locomotive  Frame   255 

Pipe     263 

Rudder 254 

Scrap  Iron  238 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamed  below. 


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APR 

MAY  26  1949 

DEC  26  1951 

JAN  10 

JUL     1 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


